Copyright © 2016. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

The tennis calendar is probably too crowded for the sport’s own good anyway but when Roger Federer is behind a new event and Rod Laver’s name is used in the title then there is a very good chance of success.

So plans are very much afoot for the Laver Cup which will pit the best players from Europe against the Rest of the World over three September, just days after the US Open.

The competition is the brainchild of Team8, the agency headed by the highly experienced and respected Tony Godsick, that represents Federer. It has the backing of Tennis Australia, which organizes the Australian Open, as well as the Brazilian businessman Jorge Paulo Lemann, a former Davis Cup player.

However, the event would most certainly not be based exclusively in Australia and would move around the world, rotating between Europe and other continents.

“Rod Laver is someone I’ve always thought was very inspiring,” Federer said. “I think it’s important to leave a legacy for the legends, and Rod Laver to me stands out because of his achievements and his character and everything. And that’s when the idea came of the Laver Cup, to name a cup after him and to also have captains which then lead a team of today’s players.”

Laver, aged 77, would be very much involved and it is proposed he will choose the first two captains ahead of next year’s maiden event.

It is understood there would be three singles matches and a doubles encounter each day. In the event of a tie after the 12 scheduled matches, a final doubles match would be played to determine the winner.

Laver said: “It’s just a great honor that my name is going to be on this. I think all the European players now, they seem to be in the driver’s seat, but I think it will be a fair competition, and I think it will be very competitive.

“It’s a unique concept in tennis. It’s in golf, and it’s been successful anytime they’ve done it with the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup. I’ve never seen those events live, but I’ve watched them on television, and it seems to bring out the nerves.”

The plan, according to Godsick, is to pay prize money to the teams but not appearance fees to specific players.

Copyright © 2016. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.