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Fritz & Gauff have high hopes for United Cup

America seeks second title in three years at mixed teams' event
December 24, 2024
Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz are teaming up for the second time, following their Olympics pairing in 2024.
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Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz are teaming up for the second time, following their Olympics pairing in 2024. By ATP Staff

American Top 5 stars Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz have wasted little time getting down to business at the United Cup.

Just a few hours after touching down at Perth Airport, the top seeds practised together at RAC Arena, no doubt thankful for a welcome breeze and pleasant conditions that were many degrees cooler than Monday’s 42 degree temperatures that scorched the city.

Both players are looking to bring their hot late-year form into the new season. Gauff won the WTA Finals in Riyadh; Fritz finished runner-up at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin to finish the year at a career-high World No. 4. in the PIF ATP Rankings.

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Fritz was a member of the United States’ championship team at the inaugural United Cup in 2023, which was played under a different format that featured two men’s singles, two women’s singles and a mixed doubles. Last year the format changed to one men’s singles, one women’s singles and a mixed doubles.

“I'm looking forward to it,” Fritz said of the tournament, which begins 27 December. “[The format] has changed a bit over the years; the year that we won, we could use our team's depth a lot more to help us. Now a lot more things can go wrong for the favourite team when it's just one [singles] match each and a deciding mixed doubles. So I'm still excited to play. I'm glad that Coco's here this year.”

Gauff, who starts the year as World No. 3, said: “We're both coming off a good year-end. And it'll be our second time playing together. So hopefully, we can do even better than the Olympics.”

The United States spearheads Group A and will wait until Day 3 on Sunday for its opening match, a blockbuster against Canada that will pit Fritz against Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gauff against former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez. The U.S. will play its second group match against Croatia on Day 5, 31 December.

 

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