Less than a month until the new tennis season starts afresh, Taylor Fritz is already "very excited" and "fired up" to represent his country in team competitions again.
The USA won the inaugural United Cup last season, with Fritz playing a significant part in that title run. The 26-year-old secured the match-clinching singles win over Italy's Matteo Berrettini. Playing team competitions is more than just another tennis match.
For Fritz, the camaraderie and positive vibes of being in a team environment are things that you don't particularly get to experience as a singles-playing ATP player. And when he is on the court, he always strives to play his very best tennis in team events.
"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. 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 is not expecting easy matches at next year's edition, where the defending champions will be without some of their key players who participated in the 2023 tournament. Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe have decided to switch their attentions elsewhere.
The 26-year-old is already anticipating a more treacherous path to the title with fewer matches per tie and is banking on himself to do the honors should mixed doubles be required to settle the contests while partnering WTA World No. 5 Jessica Pegula.
"For me starting out (at United Cup 2024) it's going to be like straight into it with two really tough matches. 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."
"I think it's going to be different this year, the mixed doubles is going to play a much bigger part in it. 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."
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