Rod Laver, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal
Apr 2, 2017; Key Biscayne, FL, USA; Rafael Nadal of Spain (L) and Roger Federer of Switzerland (R) hold the finalist and Butch Buchholz trophy, respectively, after their match in the men's singles championship of the 2017 Miami Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center. Federer won 6-3, 6-4. USA TODAY Sports / Geoff Burke

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, arguably the two greatest male tennis players in history, will join forces in Prague this weekend at the inaugural Laver Cup, a Davis Cup-style event pitting Team Europe against Team World. Nadal and Federer have dominated the tennis circuit in 2017, splitting the four Grand Slam titles among them. While Federer won at Melbourne Park and Wimbledon, Nadal prevailed in Paris and New York.

It will be the first time they team up at any level. “I would love to play with Rafa and see that forehand do damage on the other side. I’m sure that the crowd would go absolutely crazy and just because of that it would just be great to play. We’ve talked about that years ago, to play in some tournament together. It didn’t happen yet. We’re looking forward to playing here, hopefully. Let’s see if the captain allows us to play," Federer said ahead of the event.

Laver Cup: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer to team up

Nadal, the current World No. 1, acknowledged that it would be “amazing” to play alongside his archrival. “I didn’t practice here yet, of course after the US Open. After a big event you go down a little bit, you need to recover energy. I have today and tomorrow to practise hard and let’s see then,” the 15-time Grand Slam champion said.

McEnroe's "Rest of the World Team" will square off against Bjorn Borg’s six-man European squad. McEnroe and Borg were part of the greatest rivalry in tennis through the 1970s and '80s. Borg's team includes Austrian Dominic Thiem, former US Open champion Marin Cilic, Czech Tomas Berdych and rising German superstar Alexander Zverev, besides the iconic duo of Federer and Nadal. The "Rest of the World Team" would be headlined by Juan Martin del Potro and rising Canadian star Denis Shapovalov.

Rod Laver, one of the all-time greats, is humbled to have a new tourney named after him. “I’m totally honoured to have this particular event named after myself. I thank a lot of people, but I thank Team 8 and Roger Federer. Roger felt, that (early professional tennis) this was something that was important. I’m the throwback to the past champions. It’s a huge honour to be able to have this event as part of today’s world," the Australian legend said.

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