Taylor Fritz looking forward to team vibe ahead of United Cup
US Men’s No 1 Taylor Fritz is a big fan of the mixed-team format of the United Cup and is fired up to help his country retain their crown.
Fritz says that having teammates cheering you on from the sidelines gives tennis a totally different feel.
The American star believes that the shift in atmosphere does bring home that he is representing his country and not just himself.
“I just like that energy of like having a team like on the bench cheering for you, having other people I guess relying on you to win,” Fritz said in an interview with UnitedCup.com.
“It’s different; I think it pumps me up a lot more than when I’m just playing for myself.”
“And then United Cup, Laver Cup, stuff like that – whether it be Team USA or Team World – it just feels like a very big deal and I can always get very excited and fired up to play in those situations. I feel like I’ve always played my best in team events.”
Fritz expects a tough set of singles matches in the group with his expected opponents being Alex de Minaur and Cameron Norrie.
He admitted that it was difficult to prepare to start with two very tough opponents.
“For me starting out (at United Cup 2024) it’s going to be like straight into it with two really tough matches,” Fritz added.
“Obviously Alex de Minaur, in Australia, is going to be tough. And then Cam Norrie and I have played so many times and had so many close matches. So yeah, I’m going to have to be prepared.”
Fritz said that he would be taking the responsibility of playing the only mixed doubles match in a revamped format for 2024.
“I think it’s going to be different this year, the mixed doubles is going to play a much bigger part in it,” Fritz added.
“Because with just three matches instead of five, I think the results can kind of just go any way. I’m definitely not going to let anybody else play (the mixed). I definitely plan on it being me and Jess when it comes down to it.
“We definitely are going back wanting to defend the title, and we kind of just have to take it one at a time. The main goal is to get ourselves out of the group (in Perth) first and then get ourselves to Sydney, and then we’ll go from there.”
The United States start their title defence on 31 December when they take on Great Britain in Perth.
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