McEnroe, who’s returning to his role as captain of Team World, echoed those sentiments.
“I think it was one of the best and most exciting weeks that I've been around for many years,” the three-time US Open champion said. “To be with my idol here to my right, to see the players get behind it as much as they did, the crowd was amazing.”
This year’s event is on home turf for Team World, a fact McEnroe is counting on to boost his squad’s chances.
“So we're hoping now that we have the home-court advantage—that in Chicago, which is a great sports town—that we can pull this out.”
Djokovic, who’s won two of his last three tournaments, including Wimbledon, will be making his Laver Cup debut this year.
“I watched Laver Cup from my home last year. I wasn't competing,” the world No. 6 said. “I had the elbow injury that kept me away from the tour. But Laver Cup looked really, really good on the TV. All the people who were there, participating, were saying only nice things about it.”
He also pointed out how the weekend competition breaks up the routine of the tour and offers a change of pace when it comes to camaraderie.
“Life on the tour is different. Obviously you have your team, individual sport,” he said. “Only team competition so far was Davis Cup historically. You share those types of team weeks with only your countrymen. You don't get to mix up too much with your biggest rivals for obvious reasons.
“Laver Cup is a competition that unites us all.”
And McEnroe should be aware that the Serbs in Chicago—Ana Ivanovic, perhaps?—will come out to support one of their own.
“I've been invited to come to Chicago because of the large Serbian community for many years now,” Djokovic said. “It's going to be my first time in Chicago. It's a great occasion, Laver Cup. Plus I'm going to have hopefully a little bit of spare time to go around the city and see many people.”
Del Potro, who recently rose to a career-high No. 3 in the world, will also be making his debut in the competition, along with his teammates Diego Schwartzman and Kevin Anderson.
“Now we have the chance to play, to enjoy a great week with these gentlemen,” Del Potro said. “We'll try to win, for sure. But it's not going to be easy for us.”
Despite losing the on-court battle last year, Team World definitely won when it came to celebrating the big moments in the matches. At this event, Djokovic was asked if he’ll be up for the challenge to match them.
