Stars Celebrate Laver Cup With Moët & Chandon in Vancouver
The revelry of tennis was on full display this weekend as Vancouver hosted the sixth annual Laver Cup tournament. With previous editions having made stops in Prague, Chicago, Geneva, Boston and London, this was the first time the all-star tennis tournament was hosted on Canadian soil.
Showcasing teamwork, tenacity and competitive spirit, the Laver Cup was created to honour Rod “Rocket” Laver, a former Australian player who was ranked number 1, won 19 consecutive tournaments on the US professional circuit and completed the Grand Slam (winning all four slams in a calendar year) twice.
The weekend’s celebrations kicked off on Thursday night with a lavish black tie gala and dinner. The entire night was the epitome of luxury, full of decadent appetizers, glasses and bottles of chilled Moët & Chandon champagne and a full three-course meal. Iconic Canadian musician and composer David Foster hosted the night. His non-profit, The David Foster Foundation, was one of the charities supported by the Laver Cup this year. Foster wrapped the night’s festivities by performing a medley of songs including ‘Right Here Waiting’ with Grammy-award winning artist and songwriter, Richard Marx.
The first day of the all-star tournament kicked off on Friday afternoon. Prior to the match, SHARP got exclusive access to the invitation-only Rocket Club, where guests were invited to dine, lounge and socialize. The Club featured a rotating chef’s menu, live cooking and premium complimentary bar service with Moët & Chandon champagne, signature cocktails, beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages. Invitees also got premium seats with unparalleled views of the court.
To kick off the matches, spectators were introduced to Team Europe that included players Holger Rune, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hubert Hurkacz, Gael Monfils, Arthur Fils and Andrey Rublev. Team World featured young stars Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Taylor Fritz, Francisco Cerundolo, Ben Shelton, Christopher Eubanks and Canadians Felix Auger-Aliassime and Milos Raonic. Dubbed as a fire and ice rivalry, the team’s were coached by two tennis icons—John McEnroe for Team World and Bjorn Borg for Team Europe.
The first game of the tournament saw Fils, a 19-year-old French player compete against Ben Shelton, a 20-year-old American who Laver dubbed as one of his favourite young players right now. Shelton won in straight sets bringing Team World its first point of the tournament.
Following the first match, SHARP was part of a small group of guests who were invited to an exclusive meet and greet with Roger Federer. Widely considered one of the greatest athletes in the history of sport, the twenty-time Grand Slam singles champion is also a co-founder of the Laver Cup. Supplied with a fresh glass of Moët & Chandon, the 42 year-old spoke about life one year after retirement (he played his last professional match at last year’s Laver Cup in London), upcoming travel plans and his family.
The rest of the tournament was filled with exciting matches and celebrity appearances including Coldplay’s Chris Martin. And in the end Team World stole the show, beating Team Europe 13-2 over the course of the weekend’s matches.
The Laver Cup is bound for Berlin next year. Until then, the Moët & Chandon brand will surely be part of more great tennis matches and celebrations as its parent company, LVMH, is a Premium Partner of the Olympic & Paralympic Games for Paris 2024.
