McEnroe meets Celtics at Laver Cup launch

Team World suffered tight defeats to Europe in each of the first three editions of the Laver Cup. But in 2020, they have home-court advantage at an iconic venue, the TD Garden, in Boston.

On Tuesday, John McEnroe helped launch this year's tournament by appearing at the Celtics-Nets game there.

Here he is shooting around with tennis-basketball double threat Gordon Hayward and Boston center Tacko Fall, who towers seven inches taller than John Isner:

“We were leading last year in Geneva, we were so, so close,” McEnroe said. “I hope all of Boston gets behind us.

For the fourth year in a row, McEnroe will captain Team World, opposite Bjorn Borg's Team Europe.

Roger Federer, despite being out through Roland Garros recovering from a right-knee surgery, remains committed to playing the event in September. In Boston, McEnroe likened Federer's resilience and longevity to that of another local star, Tom Brady.

Tuesday night, however, didn't go Boston's way; Brooklyn beat the Celtics in overtime, 129-120. Hayward, "the best tennis player in the NBA," per Jon Wertheim, put up 7 points.

The Laver Cup takes place Sept. 25–27.