TAYLOR FRITZ TAKES IT TO TEAM EUROPE IN THIS YEAR’S LAVER CUP

Team tennis is a different sport entirely, and few players thrive on it quite like Taylor Fritz. The American comes into this year’s Laver Cup having taken home three of the last four trophies. Aside from the event’s founder, Roger Federer, who won all six matches he played in the event, Fritz has the joint-highest singles win-rate at the tournament along with Carlos Alcaraz – both on an impressive 75%. But at last year’s edition in San Francisco, Fritz took Alcaraz down, before closing out the weekend by beating Alexander Zverev to clinch the title for Team World.

Fritz plays like a beast when there’s a team jacket on the line, fighting for a team that often comes into the event as the statistical underdog. Laver Cup isn’t about ranking points or prize money, but bonding, bragging rights and benches full of screaming teammates.

For our digital cover story, we caught up with him at an in-store BOSS x BAGEL event in London (BOSS being the tournament’s formal wear sponsor), along with Team World’s Vice Captain, the former world No.1 and two-time US Open champion Pat Rafter, who’s in his second year as Andre Agassi’s Vice Captain for Team World.

First up, I chatted with Taylor backstage, before the pair joined me on stage.

Words: Stuart Brumfitt

Images: Jamie Salmons

Taylor, how is it getting after the American swing? I know a lot of Americans love playing back home, so is it hard getting geared up again after the US Open?

It just depends. Usually, no, because you get a little bit of a rest after the Open. As long as I have a little bit of time before going back out, then I feel ready and motivated to take it back on tour. If you go very deep with the US Open, then you have to go straight to Davis Cup though and then it’s pretty tough.

Where do you head after the US Open?

A lot of times I go back to Miami where I live. But I’m from Southern California, so sometimes I just like to go back to LA.

Last year’s Laver Cup was in San Francisco and this year it’s here in London. Is there a big home advantage?

It definitely helps having a crowd cheer for you. Last year in San Francisco, they were pretty on our side. Honestly, in the past, when Team Europe had Roger Federer, they would rightfully be getting crowd support wherever they were. Last year was nice, but what gives the home team the advantage more than anything is the fact that they get to be the team that picks the match-ups for day three. Day three is obviously the most points in the event, so whatever team wins on day three is typically always going to win. So that’s more where the advantage is.

Do you have a favourite part of the year? Is there a period when you’re more relaxed, or feel more on fire?

There’s a couple of swings. I enjoy the beginning of the year, especially the beginning of the year in the States, where we play Del Ray, Indian Wells and Miami. I like the grass course swing a lot. Obviously, the US was before the US Open was great. And then I love where we go to the Laver Cup, then Tokyo and Shanghai.

Is there any way you wish there was a tournament globally that there isn’t?

I’d love for there to be a tournament – because there was one, and it was good – in South Korea. That’s a great place to have one during the Asian swing. And I would love it if there was another one in Japan. I absolutely love going to Tokyo. I think you could have one in a lot of other cities there. They really love tennis.

There’s always talk of the state of American tennis. What place do you think it’s in right now?

There’s a lot of us in my generation and we all pushed each other to be better with the healthy competition all of us had. We kind of set a really nice standard and there’s a lot of younger guys that are coming up and they see what we’re doing and want to push above that. So there’s a lot of competition between us and the standard has been set in the last 10 years by my group. I think it’s pushing the next generation as well.

Is there still a style of American tennis, or have things evolved?

No, I think the stereotypical American tennis was always big serve, big forehand, but I don’t think that applies to much of the current generation. I guess Ben Shelton. But I’ve always been solid off both sides and a lot of guys actually prefer their backhands. So I think it’s kind of just whatever.

Since you’ve been sponsored by BOSS, you’ve walked in their fashion show and played your part in their events. Have you been enjoying that extra connection you get to fashion that you wouldn’t have had with a pure sportswear brand?

Yeah, I was already starting to do some stuff in the fashion world before signing with BOSS, but I wanted to get more involved with the shows and modelling. That’s one of the many reasons why the partnership made a lot of sense.

What do you think of the increase in fashion court entrances and the tunnel walks? It feels weird to me that only a couple of players are doing it, and the rest are holding off. Do you think it will inevitably take over, or will it just be certain players doing it?

I think more brands will push players to do it because it’s very good exposure and it creates a moment. Personally, I’m more of a fan of the tunnel walk, like in the NBA. That’s the outfit they wear when they show up and walk in. I think we should do more of that, rather than on the court. Going on the court ready to play, it depends if the outfit’s easy, like a warm-up jacket, or if it’s a whole thing. I don’t think you should be doing a full clothing change on the court. You’re supposed to be out there playing. I like it, but I think there’s a way to do it.

Tennis seems to be getting bigger and bigger. Have you felt that being on tour?

Tennis events are becoming more of a cool thing to go to, even if you’re not a tennis fan, which I think is great. There are too many people in the tennis world that are very uninviting to people that aren’t true tennis fans. You’ve got to start somewhere. We should definitely be more welcoming to people. I do feel like more younger people are showing interest than when I started.

What are your big goals going forward?

There’s big goals. My goal is always to be finishing top eight and getting to the end of year finals. It’s still the goal, but I spent so much of the year injured. I’m in a good spot, all things considered, but I do kind of have to taper my exceptions this year a bit. And the ultimate goal is to win a Grand Slam and other big titles. One positive I can take this year already is winning Dallas. I hadn’t won an event above a 250 in a couple of years, so that’s a step in the right direction.

Did it feel good seeing Alexander Zverev winning two Grand Slams this year, knowing you could too?

I don’t want to say it’s good, because I’m obviously thinking it could be me.

But at least the duopoly of Sinner and Alcaraz has been broken a bit.

It’s nice to see that other people are capable of winning. And to be honest, I knew that was possible. I didn’t need someone else to do it for me to believe it was possible.

Taylor is joined by Vice Captain, Pat Rafter, who buzzes off the intensity of Laver Cup, loves beating the Europeans and has no clue what to expect from his charge, Alexander Bublik.

PAT: I’m here babysitting Andre [Agassi].

Taylor, you’ve had incredible results in the Laver Cup. Is there something about the team aspect of it that you love and that gets you going in an extra way?

TAYLOR: Yeah for sure. Playing for everybody else and not just playing for yourself – then seeing everybody at the bench going crazy cheering for you – that definitely helps.

Do you think the Americans respond better to this format, because there’s more of a history of team tennis through things like college tennis?

TAYLOR: Maybe a bit, but I think throughout the history of this event, Team World has always had amazing chemistry. We have so much fun as a team throughout the weeks and it’s been like that for a long time, even when Team World wasn’t winning. That’s kind of all we had.

The first few years were dominated by Team Europe, but Team World have won three of the last four. What’s special about the vibe on the squad and tell us about some different personalities?

TAYLOR: The team obviously changes and we’re definitely missing some guys and some big characters for sure. But we have a good mix of guys that are playing for the first time and they’re really excited. It’s gonna be a good balance.

Pat, it’s your second year on Team World. What’s your take on the team and what did you pick up on at last year’s event?

PAT: The event was a bit of an introduction for me. Andre said, “Let’s go and have some fun and see how we go.” When we got there, we realised the intensity of the event. People can say whatever they want about it. When I talk about it, the Ryder Cup is one of the comparisons I like to put beside it. Do you think that’s an exhibition? Do you see the passion in that? When I went to the Laver Cup last year, I was trying to work out how the dynamics work amongst all the players and the investment by the players in the event. I can tell you, it’s real. It was so full-on and it’s so exciting to see these guys all come together and play for this common goal. Literally just to see if we can beat the shit out of the Europeans. Sorry, I’m not from Europe! But that’s what it was all about and it was so cool. Looking across the bench at the Europeans and then seeing Zverev getting back in the match in the last rubber against Taylor last year, running to the bench and screaming, with all the players all over him. Sitting back and watching that, feeling the energy of the whole event. This made me really want to talk more and more. And obviously these players have been going for many years and Taylor is one of those guys that has had such great performances here.

Are there any clashes you’d love to see this year?

PAT: It’s interesting, because sometimes the form can change throughout the year. We make these selections pretty early on and then we have to see how the guys are feeling emotionally. The conditions change a little bit when you go too, so over the next couple of days, it’s about who we think is in the right form. Day one’s worth one point, day two’s worth two points, day three’s worth three points, so you’ve got to pick your team on the day and who you think the best players are at the time and who you want them to match up against. The day two match-up is where it all happens. We’re presuming that day two is when the Europeans will be throwing their best players out there, so then we’ll put our players up against them. It’s going to be pretty spicy. Friday’s actually a bit of fun too because the guys didn’t know who’s going to play.

Do you find the London crowd rowdy and partisan, or pretty fair?

TAYLOR: Last time it was pretty fair. I mean, it was a bit of an exception because we had Roger retiring here, so it wasn’t really crazy. I think it’s going to be a lot different this year. I don’t quite know what to expect.

Pat, what’s it been like working with Andre Agassi? He’s a big old rival of yours. You went 3-3 against him in Grand Slams.

PAT: He beat me a lot, but I beat him a couple of times here in Wimbledon. We met each other in three semi-finals in a row here. You know, you go about your business [on tour], so we didn’t hang out a lot, but we really respected each other. I always really enjoyed playing Andre because of the contrast of styles: me serve and volleying and him passing me. It was a bit of fun. I enjoyed the match-up. I was always a little scared about playing him because he could just wipe me off the court so quickly. But at the same time, it was always going to be entertaining and people were going to watch a pretty fun match-up. Now with such a fact that we’ve moved on for 25 years since those times and he just said, “You want to come be the Vice Captain of the coaching?” He’s so invested and he wants this more than anyone. We get text messages for six months and it’s like. “Oh man, this is a bit early!” He’s right in there and these guys aren’t sure they exactly know how Andre has it. It’s been really fun going back into the trenches with Andre and being on the same side.

Taylor, what have you learnt from Andre and Pat?

TAYLOR: I love to get the chance to talk to these guys while practising, making comments on certain shots, certain points, getting their opinions on things. It’s impossible, when I’m playing these matches, not to get very fired up when I see Andre on the bench, cheering. And it’s so good that Pat’s got that energy he brings to it.

How are you going to bring it to Team Europe? Pat, are you encouraging everyone to do more serve and volley?

TAYLOR: No, last year we talked about it. I feel like last year I kind of won Pat over to my side of it. Coming in to the net, that’s kind of bad now.

PAT: The thing about Taylor is he’s very sure about his game. And when you have the confidence in your game, you have to let the guy go about their business. Yeah, I’m certainly not going to impart my game onto Taylor’s. It doesn’t fit that well. But his game is so big and so confident in it, so I’ll sit back and watch it.

Let’s get back to Team World. Tell us a bit more about the personalities on the team

TAYLOR: It’s tough for me without Tommy [Paul] and Frances [Tiafoe]. Frances is such a great guy to have in the locker room. But yeah, we got Demon [De Minaur] and Francisco [Cerundolo] and they are pretty chilled

PAT: Tell me about Bublik.

TAYLOR: We don’t know what we’re going to get. I don’t know what we’re going to get!

Is this your first encounter with Bublik?

PAT: Yeah I’m looking forward to it. I was hoping to get some insights from Taylor. So, Andre and I, we had text messages about how we’re going to deal with Alex [Bublik] and Andre is very convinced that he’s going to get the best out of him.

BOSS have announced obviously that from next year they’ll be official lifestyle outfitters of the Australian Open, expanding their association with tennis. What do you both look forward to most about the Australian Open?

TAYLOR: Playing! But yeah, it’s amazing. It’s such a fun event. Everyone’s so excited to be there after the off-season. There’s a lot of excitement from the players and I think there’s a lot of excitement from the fans. People just love it there. With BOSS getting involved, I’m sure it’s going to be an amazing partnership and I’m excited to get there and see the fans.

PAT: Grand Slams have a certain unique feel. Australia’s now become a new zone over the last 20 years. It has really evolved, to me, into one of the greatest two-week sporting events in the world. Melbourne is so close to the city, the restaurants are fantastic, everyone’s excited, it’s hot, they look after the players really well. They’ve got the room, they’ve got the space. I love Wimbledon, but there is no better tennis event than the Aussie Open. They do it really well.

What’s your best memory on the court?

PAT: Winning my first US Open Grand Slam was a great thing. And then probably rocking up at Wimbledon. I remember when I was 19, I would just walk around the grounds and all my memories of watching tennis and being a kid and what it was so pivotal for my career. Those are probably two of the biggest memories.

TAYLOR: For me, I would say winning Indian Wells and also probably winning the Laver Cup the first time and last year, because you never get to celebrate in tennis with other players and teams. Just the excitement of winning and celebrating is so much more special.

PAT: If we win again, I promise to celebrate this time. Last time I went to bed early. I was too tired!

Pat, how do you feel the game has changed since the days that you were doing it?

PAT: It’s definitely scarier watching these guys now. They hit it so hard. It’s the string technology. These guys know how to use it, but it was coming in towards the end of 2000, 2001. I started seeing a change in the ball flying on the court more than anything and then guys being like five metres behind the baseline and passing me. That was never the case in the year before. So those strings were slowly coming in, but just watching the way they have control over the ball now. The rackets haven’t changed a lot – it’s mainly been the strings. They’ve slowed it down a lot of times as well. So Wimbledon right now is a lot slower than what it used to be when we played. It used to skid through on the grass and now it’s a lot slower. So it’s just a whole different way of playing the game. I loved watching the generation before and I love watching this generation now. It’s awesome.

Pat, if you could both pick any present player that you would want to play against, and Taylor, a past player, who would they be?

TAYLOR: I’ve played everyone in the generation before me that I wanted to. I’d love to play Pete Sampras, I think that would be fun.

PAT: It’s not fun! You’re good at returns, but when you’re no good at returns, it’s not fun. I’m trying to work out how I get like 6-2, 6-2 out of these guys. Because I can’t play them. I need a fast Wimbledon. Okay, so if you go back in days, you’ve got to give me my court. And then who am I playing? Zverev would be fun because he stands so far back. It might be a little bit more enjoyable to play him when he’s that far back.

In association with HUGO BOSS.