By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday January 19, 2023
Team USA is living large in Melbourne, vibing off their United Cup success during week one of the Happy Slam.
Team USA is locked and loaded at the Australian Open. In more ways than one – myriad, actually.
The core of the team that won the inaugural United Cup in Sydney two weeks ago continues to vibe off of each other in hilarious – and effective – ways during week one of the Australian Open.
After his first-round match, Taylor Fritz paid tribute to the camaraderie of the group by signing the camera with what he hoped would be a “Locked” emoji. There was one problem, however: Fritz can’t draw.
“Fritz dumb ass drew a penis the other day trying to draw a lock sign,” Frances Tiafoe joked on Wednesday. “That's Fritz being Fritz.”
Kidding aside, the locked-in vibe originates with Tiafoe, and he talked about what it meant to players like himself, Jessica Pegula, Fritz, Madison Keys and himself on Wednesday after he eased past China’s Shang Juncheng in straight sets.
“It's the whole thing with the United Cup guys. Just staying locked in,” he said. “I made a joke about it with the guys, the United Cup asking them before the match, Are you locked? It's definitely become a thing.”
Keys, who hammered Wang Xinyu in straight sets to reach round three on Wednesday, called the United Cup the best two weeks of her life in her post-match interview.
The Americans clearly got a lot out of the experience, so it makes sense that they’d want to take that energy to Melbourne Park for the first Slam of the year. The Happy Slam comes with renewed ambition, as a new tennis season begins anew, but for Americans it is nearly 10,000 miles from home, and not always the easiest way to ring in the new year.
In other words, any kind of home cooking Team USA can bring to the Australian Open can’t be a bad thing.
Pegula, the No.3 seed who has taken to warming up with Tiafoe before her matches, also drew the emoji on the camera after her Day 3 win. Her artwork looked much more ready for prime time.
Here’s how Pegula explained her decision to hit with Tiafoe to prep for matches.
“During United Cup we were playing the same day, so we ended up sharing center court – we would just warm up together,” she said. “I think Taylor and Maddie also did the same thing because they were the same day a few times. I think we just got in that rhythm, and then we hadn't lost a match since so we were like, We just need to keep it going.”
Pegula elaborated on why hitting with Tiafoe is something that can help her relax during the tense, frantic pre-match moments of the Slams.
“My nerves usually come out in practice where I'm not hitting well and I'm freaking out. And Frances is just so happy-go-lucky, the biggest hype person ever. I think it's good I hit with him yesterday because it kind of relaxed me a little bit. I'm a little bit more focused, which he needs, so I think it helps him in that way. And I think he likes hitting with me, he says, for the rhythm. He says he feels like the best player in the world when he hits with me.
“We give each other a little confidence, I guess."
Actually, it sounds like a lot of conrfidence, but either way, every bit counts...