LAVER CUP

September 20, 2024

Taylor Fritz

Ben Shelton

Team World

Press Conference

FRITZ-SHELTON/Alcaraz-Zverev

7-6, 6-4

Team Europe - 2

Team World - 2

THE MODERATOR: Ben and Taylor, congrats on the win and leveling the competition, 2-All after Day 1 of the Laver Cup. Give us your thoughts on the game, please.

TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah, I mean, I think Ben and I, we talked a lot about playing dubs prior to this week. I feel like this match kind of went a lot like how I imagined it in my head ahead of us playing doubles, just serving well, getting a lot of free points, and then we just kind of connect and make it happen on a couple of return games, get the break, and that's that. I think that's what we did well today.

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, I agree. I think I made it a little bit tough on us in that first set, because we were playing so well, and that one game he served, I duffed a few volleys, missing an overhead. But other than that, I thought a pretty sound match from us.

When we were down in service games, we came up with the good stuff and made it happen to get out of those holes. I had a lot of fun playing with Taylor. Yeah, hopefully we can kind of carry that momentum into Day 2.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Could you just talk about the experience of playing that match? It felt like there was a lot of intensity, a lot of energy.

TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah, I mean, I think kind of where we are at on the scoreline for the day is big. It's a massive, massive difference going down 1-3 to 2-All. 2-All, it's kind of a wash for the day. It is what it is. 1-3, then we kind of have to -- we have to win more matches than we lose going forward.

So in the end, it can make a big difference, that one match. Yeah, I think both sides felt that.

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, I thought it was an intense atmosphere. Every time there is a match at the Laver Cup, it feels intense with the teammates on the sidelines, pretty full stadiums, big crowds obviously for a doubles match than what we are usually used to.

I think I got pretty used to it with the atmosphere last year at Laver Cup, playing some doubles matches in bigger moments, even though we were up big in the score.

Yeah, Taylor is a Laver Cup veteran, or a vet in general, so I'm not too worried about him being prepared for anything out there.

I'm not calling you old.

TAYLOR FRITZ: Vet, I don't know. I'm not that old (smiling).

BEN SHELTON: Sorry, bro. That was out of pocket.

Q. You both obviously played doubles since juniors and everything, but how comfortable do you actually feel on a doubles court compared to singles? What doesn't feel comfortable?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I mean, it totally depends on the situation, to be honest. I think you can play doubles against doubles guys, you can play doubles against singles guys. It's a totally different feel, I think.

You know, today we played doubles, but it's a bit more like singles because you have four singles players on the court. So in this kind of situation, I feel extremely comfortable playing, because Ben's taking care of his serve, like, I'm not needing to do much at net on his serve, so I can really just focus on serving and returning and ripping at the net person. That's when I feel comfortable playing doubles.

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, I think I got really used to playing doubles in pressure situations. That's probably the only difference between me and a lot of the guys out here, because I played college tennis. Doubles play is pretty huge. Obviously a much bigger stage out here, but I got used to caring a lot about the doubles and really focusing on it being an intense atmosphere.

So I feel really comfortable, but yeah, like he said, I feel like every matchup makes doubles so much different. You play two doubles guys and no one hits over a return. They chip lob you every time. They serve and volley every point.

TAYLOR FRITZ: Put away every volley.

BEN SHELTON: And put away every volley. They are literally standing on the net. Then you play with singles guys, it's a little different. They are roping the ball crosscourt, hitting the ball way cleaner from the baseline, but not moving as much at net, so you feel a little bit more comfortable returning.

There is other combinations, a singles guy and a doubles guy, so a lot can happen. You just have to kind of play it by ear.