Roger Federer presents priceless gift to John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg after Laver Cup
John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg have stepped down from their roles at the Laver Cup.
Roger Federer gave John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg a touching farewell gift as they completed their final year as the Laver Cup captains.
Borg went out on a high as Team Europe lifted the trophy for a fifth time while McEnroe was denied his parting wish.
But neither man walked away empty-handed as Federer presented them with priceless custom Rolex watches.
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McEnroe and Borg have officially ended their roles as the respective captains of Team World and Team Europe. The retired legends were brought on by Federer and his agent, the Laver Cup co-creators, for the inaugural edition in 2017.
The iconic tennis rivals were originally meant to stay for two years. After a seven-year run, the Swiss star presented McEnroe and Borg with treasured gifts as they handed over the reins to their teams.
Both men received custom Rolex watches, with a split blue and red bezel to signify the two team colours. On the back, they were inscribed with the tournament name, team name and the years they spent as the captains.
Yannick Noah will now take over from Borg, while Andre Agassi is set to lead Team World.
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Coming into their final Laver Cup in Berlin last week, Borg’s Team Europe had won the first four editions while Team World and McEnroe triumphed in the last two. And the American made it clear that he wanted to go out by completing the hattrick.
He jokingly threatened his team during a pre-tournament press conference, slamming his hand on the table as he said: “If they lose -- don't lose for me on my last one, okay? That's all I'm saying.”
They came very close - Frances Tiafoe led Alexander Zverev by a set and a break on Sunday’s third match, when World only needed one more win to retain the trophy. But Zverev stormed back to force a winner-take-all showdown between Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz.
The Spaniard won 6-4 7-5 to bring the trophy back to Team Europe on his Laver Cup debut. Afterwards, McEnroe joked: “I want to congratulate Team Europe, you’re p***ing me off but that’s okay!”
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The seven-time Grand Slam champion also shared a heartfelt message to his rival captain. “A special thanks to my great rival, I love you man. Bjorn Borg. Thank you for being on the other side,” he added.
Borg returned the compliments as he recalled how he became the leader of Team Europe. “I’m going to miss you, John, a lot. Of course we’re going to see each other but for us, we’ve been seven years,” he said.
“And I remember when Roger called me in Ibiza and said, ‘Do you want to be captain for Team Europe?’ That was eight years ago so I didn’t really know what to say but I was very happy to say yes.
“And he said too that John is going to be the captain for the rest of the World. We’ve been having good fun, even if you guys lost!”
