Taylor Fritz reveals what Andy Roddick told him about his Carlos Alcaraz win before decisive match against Alexander Zverev at Laver Cup

Taylor Fritz came up clutch on Day 3 of the 2025 Laver Cup on Sunday (September 21), beating Alexander Zverev in straight sets to secure Team World's third-ever title at the competition. Following his victory, the American revealed that a candid conversation with Andy Roddick may have influenced his form.

Fritz was one of the MVPs for the three-time Laver Cup champions in San Francisco this weekend. Although the World No. 5 began his campaign with a doubles loss on Day 1, he more than made up for it on the following two days by comfortably defeating Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, respectively, in his singles fixtures to ensure a 15-9 title win for Team World.

During Team World's press conference later on Sunday, Taylor Fritz was asked about what motivated him to play at such a high level at this year's exhibition event. In response, the 27-year-old began by first jokingly conceding that he will likely not play at such a high level anytime soon, following which he gave a funny annecdote of running into former World No. 1 Andy Roddick.

According to him, the 2003 US Open champion insisted that he was going to play even better than he did against Alcaraz, whom he had beat 6-3, 6-2.

"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,' joking about how well I played against Carlos," Taylor Fritz told the media in San Francisco on Sunday.

While Fritz's scoreline of 6-3, 7-6(4) in his victory against Zverev was less impressive, purely academically speaking, he did fare better on return and hit more winners during the title-deciding match.

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Taylor Fritz: "I was the one that wanted to put myself in the slot that I put myself"

Taylor Fritz poses with Laver Cup 2025 trophy | Image Source: Getty

Taylor Fritz has now won his last six matches against Alexander Zverev on the ATP Tour - a run that has seen the American eke out wins against his higher-ranked rival at Wimbledon, the US Open, the ATP Finals, and the 2024 and 2025 editions of the Laver Cup.

During Team World's title-celebrating media interaction in San Francisco, the 27-year-old claimed that he felt assured in his game and his teammates' prowess, which contributed to their first triumph at the competition since 2023.

"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 that wanted to put myself in the slot that I put myself," Fritz said. "So when it comes down to it, I just have to perform. It's a matchup that I obviously feel somewhat comfortable in."

Fritz will next play at the Japan Open, where he will join World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz as the second seed. The World No. 5 won the 2022 title in Tokyo but failed to go past the second round of the ATP 500 tournament in his next two appearances.

Edited by Rudra Biswas