DAVIS CUP MEDIA CONFERENCE

March 1, 2022

Mardy Fish

Jack Sock

Taylor Fritz

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Mardy, could you talk about this opportunity three months on. A unique situation.

MARDY FISH: Yeah, pretty unique, for sure, the time before being 2010 that we played them last. I was surprised, I actually wasn't sure that it was even possible to play. I thought you had to play someone who had come up a group and play them.

Yeah, I mean, we're familiar with them. They don't have the exact same team, but pretty close. Yeah, familiar with them. Familiar with the team. Not exactly the same team, but certainly know they've got a great doubles team. They've got great passion for Davis Cup. We saw that in late November.

Q. That being said, talk about the makeup of the team, the decisions you made.

MARDY FISH: Yep, we've got some new blood in Sebastian Korda, some old blood in Jack and Taylor, obviously. Jack has been playing Davis Cup for a long time. He's seen it all. Yeah, just trying to get some new guys in the mix.

We're really deep in terms of the guys that came to play and compete for us. I mean, we're fortunate in that. It makes my job more difficult to put the right people in the right circumstances.

We're super happy with this team. I think everybody understands kind of what we were missing in Italy a little bit: the passion of wanting to play for your country, wanting to play in this competition, wanting to play for your teammates, the staff that we've brought here.

We're all kind of excited to get the bad taste of Italy out of our system and on with 2022.

Q. Taylor, it seems like last year Indian Wells was a big moment for you, the wins at ATP Cup this year. Talk about what's going right for you, where your confidence is.

TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah, I think over the past couple years, like, I've been kind of slowly, slowly improving things. I've been slowly moving up the rankings. What really started clicking for me was just my forehand, my confidence in my forehand, kind of going after it, attacking. That's kind of like pieced together all the other parts of my game that I've kind of improved on a little bit.

I just have a lot more kind of confidence, playing aggressive, going for it in the big moments. I think that's been the biggest kind of difference maker.

Q. Is it just a matter of trust?

TAYLOR FRITZ: It's just knowing how it kind of feels. Even when I miss it, it still feels like I was going to make it. It's just confidence, having the confidence in it. I'm confident that it's going to go in when I go for it. I'm confident I can kind of take my chances and I'll win.

Q. Could you answer the first question again?

MARDY FISH: Sure.

Q. Having the unique opportunity of only three months removed.

MARDY FISH: Yeah, no, it's super unique to be able to play a country sort of back to back. Obviously we're really familiar with them. They don't have the exact same team, but we're familiar with who they've brought, who they have.

They have a phenomenal doubles team, one of the best doubles teams in the world. The doubles is a huge point, being right in the middle of the tie, two singles, a doubles, and two singles. We've got our best guys here, kind of putting the bad taste of Italy out of our system and on with this year.

Q. How do you feel their team's passion is for this year?

MARDY FISH: They were super impressive with that. You can go down the line in terms of guys that were on the team that saw that, as well. I think to a man we can say they had more passion than we did to win that tie.

They had as much passion as I've seen, to be honest, within Davis Cup. Certainly in a non-home or away tie scenario, right? This is a new format. We're sort of used to a home tie or away tie. It's pretty easy to get into those.

I think it was tough for us to kind of get up for a tie or a match that we had already lost to Italy. That was a huge tie for us, the Friday after Thanksgiving for us. Then to play Colombia, kind of not understanding the format. Can we advance? Do we still have a chance to advance?

Look, we've put that behind us. We're fine to forget about that trip and move forward. Yeah, I mean, we've got a home tie here. It will feel like a home tie. We'll get the crowd behind us. There's going to be a lot of passion from our guys.

We'll certainly, certainly be able to match theirs, match their intensity, match the passion for Davis Cup, this team competition. That's all I can ask of these guys.

Q. (Question about history with the Colombian captain.)

MARDY FISH: We've played quite a few times. We played a pretty epic match in Bogota, what, 12 years ago I guess. So, yeah, certainly one of my fondest memories of my career was that week in Bogota.

Coming full circle and having him, he's such a good guy, one of the nicest guys you'll meet out here on tour. So I look forward to competing against him again in a coaching role as opposed to a playing role.

Q. (Question regarding golf tournament.)

MARDY FISH: They know all about it. That Tahoe tournament is a big deal with our team. I mean, this guy is obsessed with golf now. Jack is a phenomenal golfer. Taylor is not yet, but he will be, I think.

No, they know all about it. It's one of the better weeks of the year certainly. I got the invite again. Always excited to get that email every year. While these guys will be grinding at Wimbledon, I'll be playing golf at Lake Tahoe. Not so bad.

Topgolf at the hotel is probably the only golf we'll be playing this week.

Q. Mardy, is there a confidence thread throughout the guys that you assembled here for this weekend?

MARDY FISH: Yeah, I mean, just the love for Davis Cup, love for this team. Getting some young guys in the mix. Sebastian Korda never played Davis Cup before. Super happy to have him involved. Tommy Paul again, he's done it once in Honolulu a couple years ago. Then Rajeev Ram, he's only played -- he's a veteran on tour, but he's only played one match in Davis Cup. It's nice to get him and Jack back out there on the court. They were unbelievable together in Italy. I'm excited for that. Again, they've got a phenomenal doubles team. We feel like we do, as well.

Q. Jack, Mardy talked about doubles. Talk about that all-important matchup, how tough those guys are.

JACK SOCK: Yeah, I mean, they've obviously had a phenomenal career so far, a lot of great results. They won Wimbledon, right? They have a slam.

Yeah, I mean, they're always a solid team every year. They're usually in the top 10 or around it at the end of every year.

But, I mean, like Mardy said, I definitely trust myself on the doubles court a lot. I've only played with Raj once in Turin. I thought we clicked well, opposite styles. We both had a blast playing for our team. I thought we had good energy. I do think we combine well together. We obviously got to play great tennis to beat them because they are solid. I'll back us most every time.

Q. Seems weird that you're an elder statesman on this team.

JACK SOCK: Yeah, it does.

Q. Talking about Davis Cup, Laver Cup, ATP Cup. How special is Davis Cup?

JACK SOCK: I haven't had a chance to play ATP Cup. Laver Cup, it's for the world. That event is unbelievable, as well.

I think back to I was a practice partner 12 years ago for the first time. To get that call even just to be a part of the squad was a great honor. Just to be around the guys, to learn from all the older guys, now to be kind of reverse role, hopefully I can give some wisdom as well to these younger guys if they'll listen to me or ask questions. I feel like I've had a lot of great experiences at Davis Cup.

I'm an American through and through. I love representing the red, white and blue, do what I can. Anytime I get to put the flag on our shirt, go play, I'll be there.

Q. When you're on tour you're traveling by yourself. What does it mean to be competing as a team in Davis Cup?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I mean, the team competitions are always, like, so fun because, like we just mentioned, Laver Cup, ATP Cup, it has a different type of energy to it.

Yeah, just being able to be here as a team, practice as a team, then when we're on the court competing, having the team cheering for you, it just adds an extra element that we don't typically get on tour. It's a lot of fun, something I kind of always look forward to. I think most people do.

Q. What were your first memories of Davis Cup?

TAYLOR FRITZ: Madrid 2019.

Q. As a kid watching.

TAYLOR FRITZ: Unfortunately, I'm not the person to ask about watching tennis as a kid, no.

Q. (Question about pressure of a team competition.)

TAYLOR FRITZ: I mean, the team aspect of it definitely adds pressure because normally it's just yourself out there. If you lose, you're letting yourself down obviously, which is tough. Here you're playing for a team, you're letting your team down.

For me, I love the added pressure. I feel like it makes me play better and compete harder. I'm really excited. I think I play my best tennis in these type of situations.

Q. Do you spend time outside of the court? How much time do you spend together?

JACK SOCK: Yeah, I mean, I think we're a pretty close-knit squad. I think most of the Americans are all good friends. Obviously a lot of us live in different parts of the country, but when we come together I think it's always fun. A lot of the same interests. Like to play games, play cards, whatever it is.

We're usually competing even when we're not competing at something. At least I like to. I think, yeah, like Mardy said, some Topgolf this week, team dinners. It's always a blast. A lot of good, fun personalities on the team.

Yeah, looking forward to the week, for sure.

Q. Mardy, your documentary was so widely embraced. How has the reaction to it changed your role as a mentor and captain?

MARDY FISH: It hasn't changed my role as a captain much. I certainly have thousands of messages, whether through social media, through Twitter, through emails, texts, whatever. It's been overwhelming, the response, in a good way.

I set out to try and tell my story to give people a success story in the mental health world, show people a vulnerable side of a human being, that their job was completely taken away from them due to some sort of mental health issues.

Not only was I able to get through it and beat it and get to the other side, I was able to jump back into sort of the fire of competing at a high level at the place that took it all away from me.

It was important for me, if I was going to tell my story, to tell it as a success story, to give people hope that they can get through any sort of mental health issues they have, whether it be depression, panic, anxiety, bipolar. There's a lot of stuff that people deal with, 10s of millions of Americans deal with on a daily basis.

When I went through it, I wasn't aware of any sort of success stories in sports. I was a sportsfan. I didn't know any scenarios where I could lean on to say, Oh, there's an athlete or a person that I know of that went through something similar and was able to get through it.

I was hoping to give people a success story for that. The response has been pretty overwhelming.