Fritz keen on facing Sinner again after ATP Finals loss ahead of potential Davis Cup clash

American No 1 Taylor Fritz is keen on facing world No 1 Jannik Sinner again at the 2024 Davis Cup Final 8 after losing (6-4, 6-4) to the Italian in the ATP Finals title clash in Turin.

The Davis Cup is scheduled to run from November 19-24 at Palacio de Deportes Martin Carpena in Malaga with eight nations — Italy, Argentina, USA, Australia, Germany, Canada, Netherlands, and Spain — in contention for the coveted title.

Interestingly, USA and defending champions Italy are on a collision course for the semi-finals as they take on Australia and Argentina, respectively, in the same quarter of the last-eight stage.

Both Fritz and Sinner are up for national duty in Malaga along with their fellow countrymen. The American squad will have Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Rajeev Ram, and Austin Krajicek in addition to the new world No 4, whereas the 2024 ATP Finals champion will join Lorenzo Musetti, Matteo Berrettini, Andrea Vavassori, and Simone Bolelli.

Shall USA and Italy succeed in their quarter-final efforts, they will fight for a place in the final, with the likelihood of Fritz coming face-to-face with Sinner for the second time in less than a week after the season-ending finale on the ATP Tour.

“Yeah, it’s interesting having to play Jannik obviously twice,” Fritz told the press after losing the Turin summit clash. “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.”

Fritz lost to the Italian in the US Open final earlier this year as well.

Fritz jokes about ditching his teammates

In the same conversation with the press, Fritz joked about skipping practice with his teammates, desiring a day off after the disappointment in Turin.

“I think they want me to practice tomorrow,” the American added. “I said it’s probably not going to happen. I think I need a day off. Yeah, 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.”

USA is notably the most successful nation in Davis Cup history, having secured the international silverware a staggering 32 times and ended as runner-up on 29 occasions.

However, the Americans haven’t tasted success at the ‘World Cup of Tennis’ since 2007.

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