“We’re going to have a fun night,” Fritz said on court after the match. “Definitely popping some champagne in the locker room in a few minutes.”
Team World did just that, with Agassi causing plenty of laughter as he tried and failed to open a bottle of fizz, before eventually managing what proved one of the hardest tests of his captaincy.
Agassi’s influence for Team World cannot be understated, and Fritz was quick to pay tribute to the American great.
“Just seeing these guys on the bench getting pumped up, seeing a legend of the sport like Andre jumping out of his seat cheering for me, it’s impossible not to be so fired up and just give it everything you have,” Fritz said.
Alex de Minaur then restored Team World’s lead with a comfortable victory over young talent Jakub Mensik, the Australian running out a 6-3 6-4 victor.
De Minaur managed to save all five break points he faced on serve, joking afterwards that that is what he does “for a living”.
“I’m not a bot like some of the players in Team World,” he said, referring to the big-serving prowess of Fritz in particular.
Alcaraz then kept the tie alive with his 6-2 6-1 victory over Francisco Cerundolo, leaving Fritz and Zverev to slug it out for the title.
The American proved the stronger – although Zverev kept the scoreline respectable – even winning a 42-shot rally that had the crowd on their feet in disbelief.
Fritz’s willingness to come to the net proved decisive, the American winning 23 of 26 points when he came in.
More winners and fewer unforced errors than his opponent were other decisive factors in Fritz grabbing the win, which he sealed with a volley before turning to Team World to celebrate.
“Just unflappable. They never stopped believing. They laid their heart on the line. On paper, a lot of people said they didn’t see an inroad to pulling this off, but we shocked the world.”
“No, we shocked Team Europe,” retorted De Minaur.
“That’s a good point,” Agassi added. “It’s the champagne!”
