Laver Cup 2021 - 'I don't think his hands are that good' - Alexander Zverev coaches Casper Ruud mid-match

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 24/09/2021 at 20:13 GMT

There was another classic coaching moment between two top players at the 2021 edition of the Laver Cup as Alexander Zverev walked over to the bench when Casper Ruud was having a changeover mid-match against Reilly Opelka and gave his Team Europe colleague some words of advice. Fans have been used to seeing this from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal over the years.

Olympic champion Alexander Zverev gave some mid-match coaching to his Team Europe team-mate Casper Ruud as he faced Reilly Opelka at the 2021 Laver Cup.

Ruud cruised past the huge American in straight sets, 6-3 7-6, in the opening rubber of the team event, which is being played at TD Garden in Boston this year.

Whilst the Norwegian had the benefit of having Team Europe captain Bjorn Borg by his side on the courtside bench throughout, he was also given some advice by Zverev midway through the second set.

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With Ruud holding a 4-3 lead with serve, having taken the opening set fairly comfortably, the German told his team-mate to not be phased by Opelka coming to the net.

"If he goes to the net, it doesn't matter," Zverev said, with his coaching picked up by the nearby microphones.

Let him get a normal volley, because I don't think his hands are that good where he can push a lot.

"He wants to finish it straight away, you know what I mean?"

'A wonderful performance' - Ruud closes out opening win for Team Europe

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Coaching moments between players who are rivals outside of the team event have become a memorable feature of the Laver Cup over the years.

In 2019, there was a classic moment when Rafael Nadal provided fellow legend Roger Federer with some words of advice during one of his matches.

‘Keep the points under five shots!’ - The time Nadal coached Federer at Laver Cup

Equally, there was the time when both Federer and Nadal gave Stefanos Tsitsipas some coaching during a changeover.

'Don't be scared!' - Federer coaches Tsitsipas at Laver Cup 2019

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You can watch the Laver Cup live on Eurosport 1, eurosport.co.uk and via the Eurosport app. Download the Eurosport app for iOS and Android now to get yourself all set for the action from Boston.

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