"I need a day off" - Taylor Fritz refuses to join Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul & others at Davis Cup early after heartbreaking ATP Finals 2024 loss
Taylor Fritz shared his thoughts on joining Team USA for Davis Cup preparations just a day after his tough ATP Finals loss to Jannik Sinner. The American admitted he needed at least a day off to process the disappointment and clear his mind before diving into practice.
Team USA's squad for the team event includes Fritz, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Rajeev Ram, and Austin Krajicek. Their campaign kicks off on November 21 with a quarterfinal clash against Australia.
Fritz lost the title match to Jannik Sinner 4-6, 4-6. His Davis Cup teammates are already in Malaga and sent him their best wishes before the final. During a post-match press conference, he said that he’s excited to join them, adding:
"I will be going to Davis Cup. I think they want me to practice tomorrow. I said it's probably not going to happen (smiling). I think I need a day off."
"I would love to just go home. All the players, we came together and we said, We've got a really strong team, let's give our best effort, try to win this thing. I can't do that to the guys. I got to go out and I'm going to give it my best effort with them. I'll be there tomorrow," Taylor Fritz continued.
The Davis Cup Finals will be held at the Palacio de Deportes Martín Carpena in Malaga, Spain, from November 19 to 24. This year's edition is set to be special as it marks Rafael Nadal's final tournament.
Taylor Fritz on playing Jannik Sinner at Davis Cup Finals 2024: "It's interesting"
If Team USA defeats Australia in the Davis Cup quarterfinals, they could face Team Italy in the semis—assuming Italy overcomes Argentina. This scenario would see Taylor Fritz facing Jannik Sinner for the second time in a week, a prospect the American finds "interesting."
Fritz told the media in Turin:
"It's interesting having to play Jannik obviously twice. Kind of what I said after the first match that we played: I feel like I can take a lot of positives out of the match. Not only is he the best player in the world, but he's playing at an extremely high level right now."
He added:
"I mean, it's great to play someone who's better than you because you really get to see the things that you need to improve on and it exposes a lot of your weaker sides of your game."
Fritz's exploits at the ATP Finals will propel him to a career-high ranking of World No. 4 when the rankings are updated on Monday. Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner will cap off an incredible season by finishing as the World No. 1.