Seven Laver Cup participants will make the long trip from San Francisco, California to Tokyo, Japan for the continuation of the Asian swing.
Carlos Alcaraz headlines this ATP 500 field as the top seed, making his debut appearance at the Japan Open (he competed in Beijing the past two seasons). The top-ranked Spaniard is coming off another U.S. Open title, but he lost one of his Laver Cup matches to Taylor Fritz and this is generally his least productive time of year.
As such, it is no guarantee that Alcaraz lifts the trophy even though he is a significant favorite. A strong field only make things even more difficult for the six-time Grand Slam champion, as Fritz is taking his talents to Tokyo along with Holger Rune, Casper Ruud, and Tomas Machac. Rune, Ruud, and Machac were all teammates of Alcaraz’s on an unsuccessful European squad in San Francisco (Machac was an alternate). Frances Tiafoe, Matteo Berrettini, and current Chengdu finalist Alejandro Tabilo are also in the 32-man field.
Alcaraz will kick off his campaign against clay-courter Sebastian Baez before facing either Tabilo or Zizou Bergs. Tiafoe and Brandon Nakashima are potential quarterfinal opponents for the 22-year-old; Ruud is a possible semifinal foe.
The bottom half of the bracket features Fritz, Rune, Machac, Alex Michelsen, Sebastian Korda, and Gabriel Diallo.
who ya got?