Taylor Fritz was very much the man of the moment as Team World claimed success over Team Europe at the 2025 instalment of the Laver Cup.
After a whitewash on day two, Team World had threatened to make a mockery of this year’s event and win at an absolute canter.
Fritz beat Carlos Alcaraz on day two as Team World took a firm grip on the trophy, with many calling the performance the best of his career.
Alcaraz was annoyed with his display against Fritz but he did manage to claim a number of other points for Team Europe during the event.
Fritz overcame Alexander Zverev in the deciding rubber, and afterwards, he shared what a former player had said to him on the morning of the match.
What Andy Roddick said to Taylor Fritz before final Laver Cup match
Fritz was the player tasked with beating Zverev and winning the competition for Team World, with the German looking broken at the end.
It was no surprise to see him get the nod to play in that match, given that he’d overcome Alcaraz the day before.
Roddick, however, saw his performance coming, and Fritz shared in his press conference afterwards what the former player had said to him on the morning of the final day.
He said: “Yeah, I mean, it’s going to be tough to come back and play like I played yesterday. Funny thing, I was leaving the hotel. I saw Roddick, who I haven’t really spoken to too much in the past, and he said, Don’t worry, you’ll play better today (laughing), joking about how well I played against Carlos.
“You know, at the end of the day, we got to pick the line-up for today, and we sat down as a team, and I was the one who wanted to put myself in the slot that I put myself.
“So when it comes down to it, I just have to perform. It’s a matchup that I obviously feel somewhat comfortable in. No matter what, I was just going to compete as hard as I could for the team and do everything I could do.”
Fritz can finish the year with a flourish now
Beating players in the top 10 on the ATP Tour hasn’t come easily to Fritz this year and that needs to change.
He was comfortably beaten by Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic at the US Open and Wimbledon, respectively, with the Grand Slams proving problematic for him when it comes to beating top players.
This will give him confidence for the remainder of the year, however.
Fritz can beat anyone on his day, and now he’s got to focus all of his energy on claiming a big Grand Slam scalp and getting over the line to finally win one.
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