SAN FRANCISCO—Just over a decade after the ATP Tour event in the San Francisco Bay Area left the region, the men have returned. How fitting that in a part of the country renowned for innovation that its 2025 incarnation of high-level men’s pro tennis is the highly creative and compelling team event, the Laver Cup.
Taking place over three days starting on Friday, September 19 inside San Francisco’s Chase Center, one of Laver Cup’s biggest stylistic wrinkles is that each day, victors are awarded more points as the two squads seek to earn the 13 points required for victory. A Friday victory counts as one, Saturday two, Sunday three. Another element is that in lieu of a third set, matches are decided by a ten-point tiebreak. The payoff of this concurrently compressed and expansive format is that the competition will not be decided until the last day, making for a rare mix of collaboration and intensity.
Led by new captains Yannick Noah and Tim Henman, Team Europe is the holder, winner of this event five times in its seven-year history. Team World, also boasting a new leadership duo in Andre Agassi and Patrick Rafter, is seeking to regain the title it last won two years ago.
Here’s a look at Friday’s four matches:
Four years ago, these two met at a Laver Cup match in Boston. Ruud won that one. The man from Norway has also emerged triumphant in all three of their other matches. Ranked No. 12 in the world, Ruud has gone 3-1 in Laver Cup singles matches. After struggling with injuries, Opelka this year has soared up the ranks from 293 at the end of 2024 to a current spot of 62, has only played one Laver Cup singles match, losing to Ruud 6-3, 7-6 (4).
The equation in this one is simple: Surely Opelka will hold his tremendous serve swiftly many times. But will he make any kind of dent when returning? Backed most of all by a massive forehand, Ruud’s ability to build points is impressive.
It’s always intriguing when two young contenders play one another for the first time. Add another layer when it happens in a team event. The 17th-ranked Mensik knows all about team play, having less than a week ago in a Davis Cup tie in Florida won the decisive point for Czechia when he beat America’s Frances Tiafoe with in an impressive display of crackling baseline play. Michelsen, now No. 32 in the rankings, hasn’t competed since losing in the first round of the US Open.
Will the 20-year-old Mensik be tired? Or instead, will he ride the wave of inspiration that is often uniquely fueled when a tennis player joins forces with others? Michelsen, a year older than Mensik, is surely eager to make his Laver Cup debut memorable—and also has the kind of appetite for competition necessary to thrive in this environment.