Laver Cup 2022 - US Open semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe replaces injured John Isner in Team World

Published 13/09/2022 at 12:49 GMT

John Isner suffered a wrist injury at the US Open and has withdrawn from the event in London. Fellow American Frances Tiafoe takes his place fresh from a run to a first Grand Slam semi-final in New York. John McEnroe, captain of Team World, said that Tiafoe will bring a "positive energy" as his team look to beat Team Europe to the Laver Cup.

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Frances Tiafoe has replaced John Isner as part of Team World for the 2022 Laver Cup.

The US Open semi-finalist replaces his fellow American after Isner was forced to withdraw from the event due to a wrist injury.

Tiafoe competed at the inaugural Laver Cup in 2017, playing in the tournament's opening match, and 2018, but has missed out on the last two editions of the event.

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But fresh from reaching the last four at a Grand Slam for the first time, Tiafoe is excited to return to Laver Cup action at the O2 Arena in London from September 23-25.

"I love Laver Cup competition,” said Tiafoe, who lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals in New York. “It’s an incredible event and I hope I can win points for Team World in London this time.

"I know what to expect and I think we have a great chance this year of taking the title from Team Europe."

Team World, captained by John McEnroe, are yet to win the Laver Cup, and were thrashed 14-1 at last year's event in Boston.

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Tiafoe joins compatriots Taylor Fritz and Jack Sock in McEnroe's ranks, with Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime, Diego Schwatzman (Argentina) and Alex de Minaur of Australia completing a unit that again begin as underdogs.

Bjorn Borg leads Team Europe as he seeks a fifth successive crown, with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer all due to compete.

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud, who has climbed to second in the world rankings despite being beaten by Alcaraz in the US Open final, are also in Bjorg's selection.

McEnroe hopes that the injection of Tiafoe's "positive energy" can help end the European dominance of the event

“I am thrilled to have Frances on the team,” said McEnroe. “He has raised his game to a whole new level and has shown that he can compete and win against the best players on Tour.

"Plus, he brings a positive energy that should help the entire team.”

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The 2022 Laver Cup will be held over three days on the indoor hard court at London's O2 Arena.

Each match win is worth one point on Friday, two points on Saturday and three points on Sunday, with the first team to reach 13 points out of a possible 24 points available the winner.

If the points are tied at 12-all at the conclusion of the five sessions of action, a deciding match will be played on Sunday to determine the winner.

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Stream the 2022 Laver Cup exclusively live on discovery+ and eurosport.co.uk

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