Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff combined to give the USA a winning start to the 2025 United Cup against Canada.
Chris Eubanks couldn’t wait to see Fritz and Gauff in action, with the duo having reached the quarter-finals of the Olympic mixed doubles earlier this year.
The USA pair eventually fell to Gabriela Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, with the two nations now drawn together in the United Cup.
Gauff really enjoyed the Olympics, and she will have also enjoyed beating Leylah Fernandez in their United Cup singles clash.
Fritz lost his meeting with Auger-Aliassime, but the former partnered Gauff to overcome the latter and Fernandez to secure a 2-1 win for Team USA.
Taylor Fritz left impressed by Leylah Fernandez at the United Cup
But it certainly wasn’t a straightforward encounter for ATP Tour number four Fritz, who discussed the serve of Fernandez in the post-match press conference.
READ MORE: Taylor Fritz states his ‘main goal’ for the 2025 season ahead of the Australian Open
“I was having a really hard time with that one!” he said. “I can’t say I have seen many serves like that, so it definitely took some time to get used to it.”
Fernandez certainly impressed with her serving against the big-hitting Fritz, with the Canadian saving three break points on her serve in the opening set.
It may have been an area the 22-year-old worked on in the off-season, with her serving having been outshone by many competitors throughout 2024.
Fernandez was ranked in 27th place with her 136 aces, and rose all the way up to joint-10th with her 249 double faults, a leaderboard topped by Gauff with 430.
She finished the season with a first serve won percentage of 64.6%, a second serve won percentage of 46%, and a break points saved percentage of 57.3%.
| Aces | Double faults | 1st serve won | 2nd serve won | Break points served | Service points won | Service games won | Return points won | |
| Leylah Fernandez | 136 | 249 | 64.6% | 46% | 57.3% | 58% | 69.1% | 44.3% |
| Coco Gauff | 250 | 430 | 71.8% | 43.9% | 60.6% | 60% | 73.4% | 48.5% |
What Coco Gauff thinks about Leylah Fernandez after their United Cup match
The USA complete their group stage in Perth with a clash against Croatia, who lost 2-1 to Canada in their opener.
Despite that defeat, Croatia will undoubtedly pose the USA a real threat, with Fritz and Gauff once again expected to be heavily involved.
The former is set to take on Borna Coric as the latter meets Donna Vekic, with Gauff delighted to have kick-started her 2025 season with a win against Fernandez.
READ MORE: Andy Roddick makes confident prediction about Coco Gauff going into the 2025 tennis season
“Yeah, very tough match to play for the first match, especially against a lefty,” she said. “I think I only played one or two last year.
“Yeah, I’m really happy with how I played. She’s a tough opponent. Kind of a physical match considering the scoreline. Overall just happy with how I started off the season. Happy to do well for my team.”
Team USA captain Michael Russell meanwhile was unsurprisingly happy with the result, but also with the unity on display at the team event.
Asked what he was most happy about, he said: “I think just the resilience, the fact that Coco and Taylor played so aggressive in the end of that first set, then carried it over in the second set. Relinquishing the break in the second, then just kept fighting.
“That’s part of the whole team atmosphere: you’re not only playing for yourself, you’re playing for your team, getting the energy behind it. It was great to see the energy and the way they meshed so well at the end there.”
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
