Casper Ruud expects to be "a bit nervous" when he features alongside childhood heroes Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and the retiring Roger Federer at the Laver Cup.
Ruud is the world number two heading into the tournament, which sees Team Europe take on Team World in London, after his efforts at the US Open.
The Norwegian fell just short against Spanish teenage superstar Carlos Alcaraz in the final at Flushing Meadows.
Ruud featured at last year's Laver Cup, held in Boston, and this year is due to join up with the 'Big Four' of Djokovic, Nadal, Murray and Federer, who has announced his impending retirement at the age of 41. The quartet have won 66 grand slam titles between them.
While there are some doubts over whether Federer will be fit enough to play in his farewell tournament, with the action starting on Friday, Ruud is "honoured" to have the opportunity to play alongside his idols.
"It's going to be so special this year, having the biggest four tennis players in my childhood," Ruud said in an interview on the Laver Cup's official website.
"It's going to be an honour. [I'm] probably going to be a bit nervous when I'm out there playing in front of them, but I'll do my best and I'm very happy to be able to represent Europe in front of a crowd full of cheerful fans, and a European bench of legends."
Ruud has played six matches against the illustrious quartet who will now be team-mates, winning only once – against Murray in San Diego last year.
The 23-year-old has lost three times to Djokovic and once to Nadal – in the final of the French Open this season – while his sole meeting with Federer, back in 2019 at Roland Garros, went the way of the 20-time major champion.
Federer helped to create the Laver Cup but did not play in the 2021 edition due to injury. He was, however, present to support Team Europe from the stands in Boston.
"I was playing the first match of the whole [2021] Laver Cup against [Reilly] Opelka," Ruud said. "It was the first time they showed Roger on the big screen in TD Garden in Boston, and the whole crowd erupted like I never heard before.
"I can only imagine what it will be like when he's on the team and when he will enter the court."
Federer announced the decision to bring the curtain down on his 24-year playing career on Thursday, having not competed since making the quarter-finals at Wimbledon last year.
WTA Finals: Gauff never gave up hope in topsy turvy showpiece
Coco Gauff explained how she kept her cool despite the helter-skelter nature of her WTA Finals clash with Qinwen Zheng.
Gauff prevailed 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2) in Riyadh on Saturday to become the youngest WTA Finals champion since 2004.
She was pushed all the way by Olympic champion Zheng, who led 5-3 at one stage in the decider and also clawed back four matchpoints before Gauff eventually got over the line.
"Tired, it's been a hard season," Gauff told Sky Sports after her victory.
"It was a really great match. Qinwen played some unbelievable tennis. I was just trying my best to hang in there and I never gave up.
"I was just telling myself, 'It's another point, another chance'. I've been in situations like this in the past and have been able to turn it around, and was able to do it again."
Gauff is the first player since Serena Williams (12, between 2013 and 2015) to win at least eight consecutive hard-court finals.
The 20-year-old collapsed on the court after her winning shot, something the American quipped she had mentally reserved for grand slam victories.
"At the end of the match, when I, like, fell on the floor, I didn't think I was going to do that," said Gauff, who has secured the year-end world number three ranking.
"I made a promise to myself that I will save that for grand slams. But honestly, to the way the match went, I was like, 'I'm just tired. I just want to lay on the ground.'
"I know I was like a couple of points away from losing, but, you know, I just tried to stay in the moment, honestly, and I'm really proud of myself."
For Zheng, it was a case of taking the positives from the first WTA Finals showpiece match that had to be settled by a third-set tie-break/
She said: "The match was very close, and then, you know, at the end, when you play this type of match, it's not about tennis, it's just about choices on court.
"When you lose a match, there's lessons you have to learn. So I would say it's a lot of positive things, because it's my first WTA Finals, but at the same time, I feel hurt to lose this match. But we will see. Maybe next time I will be better."
WTA Finals: Gauff downs Zheng to clinch title
Coco Gauff triumphed over Qinwen Zheng after three sets to become the youngest WTA Finals champion in 20 years.
Having fallen behind in Saturday's final in Riyadh, Gauff bounced back to prevail 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2).
Gauff had squandered two match points when 6-5, 40-15 up in the decider, with Zheng clawing back to force a tie-break.
Yet, the American rediscovered her composure to cruise into a 5-0 lead, and though she saw another two match points fall by the wayside, Gauff got the job done at the fifth time of asking.
A short Zheng return clipped the top of the net, with Gauff scrambling from the baseline to meet it before flicking a forehand to the left of her opponent, with this year's Olympic champion unable to get there.
Gauff, who beat Iga Swiatek in the group stage and downed world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, collapsed to the court in celebration, after winning what was the second-longest WTA Tour-level final of 2024.
Data Debrief: It's a marathon, not a sprint
Zheng made a blistering start, but despite going a break up in the second set, she could not maintain the momentum.
Gauff's wobble in the decider meant the WTA Finals championship match had to be decided by a third-set tie-break for the first time since the tournament's introduction in 1972.
At 20, Gauff is the youngest player to win the WTA Finals since Maria Sharapova in 2004, and the youngest American champion of the event since Serena Williams in 2001.
Only Nancy Richey and Anna Smashnova (10 each) have won more titles after their first 10 WTA Tour-level finals than Gauff (nine) in the Open Era.
Meanwhile, she is the first player since Williams (12, between the 2013 US Open and 2015 Cincinnati Open) to win at least eight consecutive hard-court finals, and the youngest to do so since Martina Hingis in 1998.
Alcaraz aiming to turn 'motivation' into maiden ATP Finals crown
Carlos Alcaraz said he arrives at the ATP Finals with "a lot of motivation" and is looking to make his mark in Turin next week.
Alcaraz, who claimed two grand slam titles at the French Open and Wimbledon this year, missed the event in 2022 after picking up an internal oblique muscle tear.
The Spaniard was then beaten in straight sets by Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, though the Olympic champion has since withdrawn from this year's tournament with an ongoing injury issue.
Alcaraz, however, enters the year-end competition with a win-loss record of 52-11, with only Jannik Sinner (12) claiming more top 10 wins in 2024 than the 21-year-old (11).
“Last year was a difficult end of the year for me,” Alcaraz said. “I could not play at my best.
"The last two matches here were pretty good matches for me, but the previous two, three tournaments I didn’t play at my best, so I realised I had to change a little bit at this time of the year, which I did this year.
“I come here a little bit different. I approach this tournament a little differently, knowing there are things I have to change if I am to have a good result here and go far.
"Last year I didn’t start well from the first matches. I will try to play at the same level and will try to play good tennis. I am coming here with a lot of motivation.”
Alcaraz was drawn in the John Newcombe Group at the ATP Finals alongside Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev.
He will start against Ruud on Monday, but might face the strongest competition in the group from Zverev, who claimed his seventh Masters 1000 title at the Paris Masters.
Among the qualifiers for this year's event, Zverev (14) and Daniil Medvedev (11) are the only two to have recorded 10 or more match wins at the ATP Finals.
Alcaraz and Zverev have faced each other 10 times, winning five apiece, though Alcaraz has won the last two, including at Roland-Garros in the French Open showpiece.
“He is one of the toughest players in the world for sure,” Alcaraz said about Zverev.
“I think I return pretty well but he has a really big serve and plays unbelievable from the baseline, which makes him a really tough opponent to face.
“He has won more than 20 ATP Tour titles, lots of Masters titles. He wants a Grand Slam and I told him he is going to get it for sure.
"At the end of his career he will get at least one, let's see if more.
"He deserves it. He is a really hard worker. He has lifted the big trophies. I don’t like to face him because of his serves and shots, but I am trying to find the beauty of playing him.”
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