Fritz and a staunch defense of the United Cup: "I am very much in favor, I love this type of event"

Carlos Navarro | 7 Jan 2026 | 11.05

Fritz defended the role of the United Cup in the calendar. Source: Getty

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United States is making progress towards retaining their title in the United Cup 2026. The defending champions had a tough time overcoming the quarterfinal test, where they faced an excellent Stefanos Tsitsipas and a Greece team that extended the tie to the super-tiebreak of the third set in mixed doubles. It was there that Christian Harrison and Coco Gauff emerged, with special honors for the world number three, who won her match against Maria Sakkari and made the difference in the tie.

This is undoubtedly a special event for the members of the American team. Its legitimacy has been questioned at times: it doesn't seem to attract the same excitement as the now-defunct Hopman Cup and takes place in a very valuable week of the calendar, just before the 2026 Australian Open. However, Taylor Fritz and Coco herself came forward to defend vehemently its existence, arguing that the atmosphere and dynamics give a special touch to an event they hope will remain on the calendar for many years.

"Personally, I love team tournaments. We are coming from preseason: if you play here, you are guaranteed at least two competitive matches. If I play another tournament and lose in my first match, I don't have the chance to play again; here I do. It's a great way to start the year; I am very much in favor of this type of events," argued the American, with his view supported by his teammate.

"I think the appeal of this tournament, for example, is that I could have left Perth with a bad feeling (after losing to Bouzas), but today I could play better. The team format creates pressure, even in doubles; today, at the beginning of the super-tiebreak, I felt nervous for the first time all year. Thanks to that experience today, I believe I will handle nerves better when it comes to the Grand Slams," Coco said convincingly, even applying the lessons learned from this tournament to the bigger stages of the circuit.

Fritz reflected on his loss to Tsitsipas, and Gauff explained where the improvement in serving came from today

The day opened with a stellar duel between Taylor and Stefanos, in which the Greek displayed his improvement and outplayed the American. However, Fritz was very critical in the press conference, even surprised that the match ended so quickly. "It was a bit of a strange match because I felt that for most of the match, I played well, had all the shots I needed. When I made mistakes, I didn't feel they were bad errors. I was hitting the ball well, serving very well. He played a great first set, and I had a tough service game, but I felt good on the court. I didn't capitalize on the opportunities I had with his serve. I felt throughout the match that I would turn it around at some point, but I wasn't as clinical as needed in those moments," Taylor stated.

On the other hand, one of the highlights in the Gauff versus Sakkari match was the improvement in serving by the American. It has been one of her main challenges, and she seeks to address it before the Australian Open: today, she found a winning formula that she had no problem revealing to the press. "The key was in the mindset. I served with more margin, making her play, I was convinced that I could beat her from the baseline. I simply made adjustments. The first match, with the sun in my face, was difficult. Negative. Today, I made adjustments, and it was positive. Staying optimistic and changing the mindset while serving, that's the key." A seemingly simple formula but not so easy to implement: we will see to what extent she continues this in the semifinals where the Americans await the opponent: either Australia with Alex de Miñaur, or the powerful Poland with Iga Swiatek and the resurgent Hubert Hurkacz.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Fritz y una defensa a ultranza de la United Cup: "Estoy muy a favor, me encantan este tipo de eventos"