Laver Cup 2024: Tennis (and kebab!) fever in Berlin

BERLIN—It was the perfect location: a large arena with space for up to 17,000 spectators, in the middle of Berlin, practically opposite one of Germany's most famous landmarks, the Berlin Wall. Within a kilometre of the Uber Square that surrounds the stadium, everything pointed to one topic: tennis.

For the first time ever, the Laver Cup was coming to Germany, and every Berliner was supposed to know about it. All around the area, there were advertising banners, large posters and pictures of tennis players like Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev or Roger Federer, all of whom were in the city.

Occasionally, a black Mercedes sped down Muehlenstrasse, branded with the large Laver Cup logo. If you didn't see a Laver Cup car, you kept spotting red or blue Laver Cup jackets, which the players also wear during the team event. This time, however, it was tennis fans who wanted to be perfectly dressed for the tournament. If they weren't wearing tennis-themed t-shirts or caps, the were carrying it instead in the form of backpacks and rackets.

How Berlin became the tennis capital of Europe

‘What's going on here? This must be a huge event,’ asked a waiter from one of the surrounding restaurants with interest. The tennis madness had passed him by initially. But when he heard that the superstars of the tennis world were training 300 metres away, he was over the moon. “Where can I buy tickets?” he wanted to know.

The Laver Cup brought not only Europeans to Berlin. Alcaraz, Zverev and captain Björn Borg competed for Team Europe, along with Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Grigor Dimitrov, against Team World. The internationals featured captain John McEnroe, US Open finalist Taylor Fritz and other stars, including Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton and Francisco Cerundolo.

If you looked around the square in front of Uber Arena, you couldn't miss the tennis at all. In addition to stands of the brands On or Wilson, there was a huge screen. Either Laver Cup matches from previous years were shown here or the matches from the arena were broadcast live. Tennis fans were everywhere, lounging in deckchairs or at the surrounding stands. But there was also plenty of added value for more active sports fans: for example, you could have the speed of your own serve measured, or pick up a racket to play matches for free on the mini-courts.

Unique tennis atmosphere

Many tennis fans who couldn't get a ticket for one of the three match days were able instead to visit the training hall or watch all the matches on the big screen. And if they weren't tennis players themselves, their enthusiasm was awakened as soon as they arrived at Uber Platz.

Just as on the forecourt, pure elegance awaited tennis fans behind the doors of the Uber Arena. The color scheme, with blue (for Team Europe), red (for Team World) and black (including the unique court), is one of the things that makes the Laver Cup stand out. The hard court on which the pros played their matches in front of up to 17,000 fans was not the only thing decked out in dark colors. All the perimeter boards and even the lighting in the hall were simply darkened.

Every now and then, red and blue spotlights swept across the darkened spectator stands. It always got brighter when the big light shows took place, just before the players entered the court. Short films or interviews were not just shown on the video cube; but for a short time, the centre court itself was transformed into a projector screen.

Fans and tennis legends on a shared mission

But it was the players from both teams who provided the best entertainment. They not only performed on the court, but also thrilled the crowds from their benches. They cheered on or coached their teammates, followed the action on the court with great excitement, broke into a dance or two, and provided the odd eye-catcher off the court (Tiafoe, we're looking at you).

You could tell from the permanent grin on his face just how comfortable Roland Garros and Wimbledon winner Alcaraz felt with his team, and how relaxed he seemed. He kept jumping from the sidelines to the players' bench to urge on his teammates, cheering from the sofa or humorously trying to put his competitors from Team World in the right space.

When Zverev played his last, but crucial match on Sunday against Tiafoe, the atmosphere in the Uber Arena really heated up. The fans seemed to sense that Zverev could muster the energy to turn around a set and break deficit. Even the prominent guests, who included Boris Becker, Ana Ivanovic, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Anna Wintour and Federer, could hardly sit still in their seats.

Becker in particular kept jumping up and clenching his fist in Zverev's direction. And so the tennis fans and legends of various generations cheered on their local tennis hero with shouts of ‘Come on Sascha, come on’ or ‘Sascha’, applause and loud stamping. It was a successful strategy, as the Hamburg native went on to beat the American 10-5 in the match tiebreak.

‘Man, I love doner kebabs! I always try to eat them when I'm in Germany!’

And while Berlin was really getting into tennis fever, the players were getting more and more into Berlin fever from day to day. Even before the first day of play, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Tsitsipas, Dimitrov and Ruud expressed their joy at playing in Berlin. Aside from the city's formative history, the players were particularly taken with the typical Berlin food. While ‘Struffi’ was particularly looking forward to the currywurst, the image of the typical kebab was on the minds of many of the other pros.

‘Man, I love kebabs, one of my favourite foods,‘ said Shelton. “I always try to eat one when I'm in Germany.” And so he did. After winning his singles match against Daniil Medvedev on Sunday, the 21-year-old came to the players’ bench with a white bag and handed out gifts wrapped in aluminium foil to his colleagues Kokkinakis and Alejandro Tabilo.

‘Today I had more than one, so I shared with Alej and Kokkinakis. I think they liked it,’ he said later. Australian Kokkinakis agreed: “Solid! Although it's tough on your breath, a lot of garlic,” he complained with a laugh.

I saw the champagne in our room. I felt like that was it. Maybe I jumped to conclusions!

The reward phase for Shelton and his colleagues from Team World probably ended after the kebab. Because after Tiafoe lost to Zverev and Taylor Fritz had to admit defeat to Alcaraz, their title defence was over.

‘We fought as hard as we could,’ captain McEnroe said later. ‘We could already taste victory. We were ready to take the third trophy in a row. [...] I could already see the champagne in our room. I felt like that was it. Maybe I jumped to conclusions!’

Team Europe in Berlin's nightlife?

There was not just one, but several champagne showers for Team Europe. After a lavish celebration in the changing rooms, the team planned to continue the party until late.

‘‘I've never been to a club or party in Berlin,’’ Zverev claimed. ‘‘But maybe tonight will be the first time we go out somewhere. I think a few things have been organised,’’ said the 27-year-old.

However, the world No. 2 did not want to reveal the exact plan.

‘‘I'm not going to tell a room full of you guys (the journalists), so you can turn up and take pictures of us or write about how messed up we are at 2 a.m!’’

One thing was for sure, though: even if the Uber Arena had been the perfect location for the players and their fans throughout the weekend, they still wanted to discover the city of Berlin together one last time and spread the tennis fever a little further.

Did they succeed? In the end, only the players themselves now know! 😉