John McEnroe sends a message to Boston fans.
Lifelong New York Knicks and Rangers fan John McEnroe stepped into rivals' territory—Boston's TD Garden—to launch Laver Cup 2020.

On the 40th anniversary of McEnroe reaching the No.1 singles ranking for the first time back on March 3rd, 1980, the Hall of Famer met with Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh—and sent a message to Boston fans: We need your support.

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Team World captain McEnroe has seen his squad fall to reigning champion Team Europe in all three prior editions of the Laver Cup. The former world No. 1 in singles and doubles is hoping to flip the script in Boston for the 2020 Laver Cup, set for September 25-27th.

"I can't wait to bring the Laver Cup event and tennis, which there hasn't been a lot of tennis in this area for quite a while, to this new beautiful stadum the old Boston Garden," McEnroe said. "I mean this has got so much history it's going to be exciting. I've watched thousands of times when there's events played here over the years and I mostly had to watch from the losing end.

"But now it would be nice to be part of a winning team here… I think there's gonna be unbelievable energy, which I think is gonna propel us hopefully and give us the extra gear we need to win this once and for all. We've been so close if we get the type of support that I hope we can get, I think that can put us over the top—at least that's my plan right now."

Photo credit: Laver Cup

Tickets for the fourth edition of the unique team competition go on sale Friday, March 6th at 10 am Eastern time via Ticketmaster.

Having watched both his Knicks and Rangers fall to Boston's teams in the past, McEnroe hopes the home side can help push Team World across the finish line for the first time in Laver Cup history.

"Boston fans are great sports fans; they back their team as well or better than any city in the country. So I hope and I believe they'll bring that type of energy to the event when we play it," McEnroe said. "I have no doubt that could be the difference. Let's face it: we all watch a lot of sporting events and that shot of the arm, that adrenaline rush, there's nothing better than that when you have crowds going crazy.

"I was at Madison Square Garden last night. We [Knicks] have one of the worst records in the NBA at the moment yet the energy was unbelievable and we actually pulled a great win against Houston. I'm hopeful that's the type of energy that we bring to this event."

McEnroe took time out to shoot some hoops with Celtics star and avid tennis player Gordon Hayward.

Photo credit: Laver Cup

Asked about Knicks super fan, director Spike Lee, getting into a tiff with Madison Square Garden staff after he was barred from using the employee entrance to enter MSG, McEnroe said the entire incident makes no sense to him.

"I don't go in through that entrance," McEnroe said. "I take every day as a positive step. Spike is one of the greatest Knick fans in the history of the New York Knickerbockers. So I was amazed to see that was even happening. I have no idea why that happened. It made no sense to me obviously and I don't think it made a lot of sense to anyone."

Photo credit: Laver Cup

Aryna Sabalenka cites mental improvements as one fo the biggest factors behind her success in Doha.

Aryna Sabalenka is once again an emerging force after winning back-to-back Premier 5 tournaments in Wuhan and Doha, and comes in at 11 in the world in Monday’s WTA rankings, just two spots shy of her career-high.

The 21-year-old credits her mental power as much as her physical power for the rise. In a “Champion’s Corner” interview with WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen, Sabalenka opened up on the improvements she has made in that area of her game of late.

To listen to the full interview, click the embedded tweet below:

Champions Corner: Sabalenka finds peace in Doha https://t.co/PKV6gUnnG1

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) February 29, 2020

“You have to show people that you are there not because good serve or you have this body or whatever, but that you are actually strong with your mind,” she said.

Sabalenka’s on-again off-again relationship with coach Dmitry Tursunov was on last week, with the Russian former World No.20 back by Sabalenka’s side to reignite one of tennis’ more formidable and controversial coach-player tandems.

Sabalenka tells Nguyen that Tursunov’s presence has been critical to her developing the mental tools necessary for her latest positive run of form.

“It gave me something which helped me to be stronger, to be more calm in the next matches,” she said of Tursunov.

Sabalenka says that the Russian’s voice is the one that hits home more than any other with her, and for her it is worth it to weather the relative volatility of the relationship in order to have his guidance.

Sabalenka and Tursunov hug #QTO2020 pic.twitter.com/V7CCptv2jn

— Ashish 🎾🎥 (@tennis_gifs) February 29, 2020

“I trust him like nobody else,” she said. “And it’s so many things going around. It was some bad things he did, bad things I did—it’s always like up and down with him but I trust him like nobody else. What can I do with that? Like you said, if anybody else will tell me exactly the same things which Dmitry would say I would be like ‘oh, yeah, ok, ok,’ and then if Dimitry will come and say the same things I would be like ‘Oh, wow, that’s something new and interesting I’ve never heard it before.'”

At the heart of the matter for Sabalenka is this trust, and the belief that she can depend on Tursunov to help her achieve her goals in the sport.

“I know he’s a good guy, even if he is losing his mind sometimes and doing some weird things and saying something weird, but I know that he’s still good,” she said. “Also I’m not the easiest one with whom you can work. I am also a tough person and I also can be the craziest one. … “It’s tough but I like to work with him and I like what he’s doing with my game and I like what he’s saying so.”

The legendary Navratilova praises Sharapova for her competitive fire and clay prowess.

The legendary Martina Navratilova—one of the fiercest competitors in tennis history—praised Maria Sharapova in a column she penned for WTATennis.com.

“You wouldn't have wanted her as your opponent, she wouldn't take her foot off the gas even for a moment,” Navratilova wrote of the 32-year-old Russian, who leaves the sport with five major titles and 36 WTA titles to her name.

The Russian announced her retirement last week after suffering through an injury-marred two and a half seasons that saw her plummet outside of the Top 300 in the rankings.

“Throughout her career, Sharapova marched to the beat of her own drum,” wrote Navratilova. “She wasn't in tennis to win popularity contests, whether with the public or her peers, and perhaps she wasn't always as appreciated as she could have been, but she did what she needed to win, and that worked for her.”

"I'll remember Sharapova's career for her sheer competitiveness, for her never giving anything less than her absolute best."@Martina on @MariaSharapova —> https://t.co/ntmlgKAiUP pic.twitter.com/Rzzacc9XzO

— WTA (@WTA) March 2, 2020

Navratilova points to her two Roland Garros titles and her dominance on clay from 2011 to 2015 as her crowning achievement. It certainly wasn’t the Russian's only claim to fame. Sharapova won Wimbledon as a 17-year-old and is still the youngest Ladies Singles champion at the All England Club. She also won the career Slam and is one of just six Open Era women to have achieved the feat.

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But her ability to evolve as a tour de force on the tennis court is best exemplified by the improvements she made on clay in her twenties.

“Those two titles at Roland Garros were an illustration of how Sharapova made the most of what she had, and how she adapted her game,” Navratilova wrote. “While Sharapova was hitting huge forehands and backhands, she knew that she wasn't the best all-round player so she worked at her game. She improved her drop-shot and her game at the net. Sharapova kept at it until clay became her best surface at the end – the French Open was the only major that she won twice.

Sharapova’s professionalism and her willingness to squeeze every ounce of talent out of her body are what made her great,” says the 18-time major champ.

“I'll remember Sharapova's career for her sheer competitiveness, for her never giving anything less than her absolute best,” she concluded.