LAVER CUP

September 22, 2025

Andre Agassi

Patrick Rafter

Taylor Fritz

Alex De Minaur

Francisco Cerundolo

Alex Michelsen

Joao Fonseca

Reilly Opelka

Jenson Brooksby

Chase Center

Team World

Press Conference

T. FRITZ/A. Zverev

6-3, 7-6

Team Europe - 9

Team World - 15

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, Team World. A great performance and some unbelievable tennis over the past three days. Andre and Pat, you've led your team to success in your first year. Can you tell us how you're feeling right now, Andre?

CAPTAIN ANDRE AGASSI: Very proud of these guys. I mean, they laid their heart on the line. I mean, on paper a lot of people just said they didn't see an inroad to pulling this off, but we shocked the world, and we only did it because of them.

ALEX de MINAUR: No, we shocked Team Europe (laughter).

CAPTAIN ANDRE AGASSI: That's a good point. It's the champagne. What was your question again?

THE MODERATOR: How are you feeling right now?

CAPTAIN ANDRE AGASSI: Listen, everybody played a part in making this one of the most memorable weeks I've ever spent on a tennis court. I can honestly say that, and that's saying something, because it was a lot of years I've been out there in one form or another with a perceived team, but this really was a team.

So proud of the guys. Just unflappable. They never stopped believing.

VICE CAPTAIN PATRICK RAFTER: I want to say one thing, because I don't want to say anything else. When Andre asked me to come along, we had a bit of a vision. As he said, on paper, Andre, we looked a bit thin. The boys came along. They pulled hard. It just showed you how competitive it is amongst these guys.

I've been removed from tennis for quite a long time, and watching these guys play was incredible. Their confidence and self-belief in this team was what made it all happen. The buy-in that they had with Andre and myself, whether it was individual or together, it worked really well. It was pretty seamless.

I just hope they go away and we hope that we have some buy-in for these guys for the rest of the year, as we said, whenever they want to call up and have a chat or how we can help. We want to make this event one of the greatest teams events there is. I think it's already established nearly as that.

I know time takes its time to get tradition, but it's not far away. The way this event was run, I loved it. I loved these guys, because they put their heart and soul out there, and they bought into it and made Andre and I buy in.

Andre, thank you for asking me to come along, mate, because we've got a history. I'm going to enjoy rekindling that relationship. So, anyway, I had a great time. Thanks.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Some questions.

CAPTAIN ANDRE AGASSI: Sorry. I had a question. How is your ear?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah. I got my bandage off, and it's looking great.

ALEX MICHELSEN: I'm sorry. That was my fault.

Q. Taylor, I just wanted to ask you about your journey this week. You arrived here obviously not feeling very good. I think some people were even wondering whether you would be here. Then you have this just incredible run playing maybe a couple of the most memorable matches of your career.

TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah, I mean, it's amazing to just do it for the team. In all honesty, I got here, I feel like I had recovered, and I felt pretty good after being sick at Davis Cup. Yeah, I've been feeling good since I've been here.

It's, like I said, amazing to do it for the team and a great feeling to clinch it in the end. It really just kind of is like the perfect end to a great week.

CAPTAIN ANDRE AGASSI: I was feeding the ball unbelievable this week.

TAYLOR FRITZ: He was.

Q. One more. You had some unreal net stats the last couple of matches. 16 for 20 against Carlos. 23 for 26 tonight. I know you're working all the time with your Coach Michael Russell, but has working with a great volleyer like Pat and having Andre's insight maybe unlocked something for you from that perspective?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I still think coming to the net sucks, to be honest with you (smiling). This week I was able to make it work, and I think a lot of that is just more being a bit more aggressive from the ground. It just makes the volleys a bit easier.

I don't know what happened on that match point, because normally that would be, like, a really, really tight volley for me, but for whatever reason, I was just calm doing it. Maybe that is them just being there.

Q. This is for Fonseca. You are the young among all the players, and your first Laver Cup victory. You've already mentioned that it's a great week for you to learn from the guys. What did you learn exactly, and how are you going to use this experience in the coming weeks from the tour event?

JOAO FONSECA: I mean... Sorry, he's an idiot (laughter).

I think everyone has their own great things and bad things, and I think I'm still young, so I'm still developing a lot. So I really want to thank all the team for helping me a lot to understand how it is to -- I mean, this week all over the year we are opponents, and then this week we open for each other. We talk about weakness. We talk about strength. Thanks a lot for opening with me, and thanks for letting me help. So, yeah, it was a great experience.

Q. Taylor, you beat Carlos last night on a Saturday night. Then you got to play again on Sunday night. That can kind of go one of two ways. You can have a letdown after the 24 hours, or you can have a new swagger to your game when you walk out there. I think we know which way it went, but did that kind of go through your mind how to kind of avoid the letdown of last night's adrenaline?

TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah, I mean, it's going to be tough to come back and play like I played yesterday. Funny thing, I was leaving the hotel. I saw Roddick, who I haven't really spoken to too much in the past, and he said, Don't worry, you'll play better today (laughing), joking about how well I played against Carlos.

You know, at the end of the day, we got to pick the line-up for today, and we sat down as a team, and I was the one that wanted to put myself in the slot that I put myself.

So when it comes down to it, I just have to perform. It's a matchup that I obviously feel somewhat comfortable in. No matter what, I was just going to compete as hard as I could for the team and do everything I could do.

Q. Andre, congratulations to the team and to you. Many of the team members have been saying how much they learned from you. We all know that you're one of the greatest students this game has ever had. What are some of the things that you have learned from this experience and from these guys and from coaching?

CAPTAIN ANDRE AGASSI: I mean, it's a great question. I mean, if I start with one, I got to go to all of them, because I swear I've learned something from each one of them.

I'm starting with, you know, how they somewhat process, but I think the common theme that I took away from this group, quite frankly, is just how confident they are in what they can do on a tennis court.

It's not delusional. I mean, it can be delusional. I mean, I guess depending. We're going into a different environment, different court. We didn't really know exactly how heavy the balls were going to get for a couple of days, and then they started playing 25-ball rallies, ripping the felt off of it, and those things turned into beach balls, which changes shots and all sorts of stuff.

But it was amazing to watch their calm in the midst of storms. Yeah, what I learned is kind of what I continue to learn, which is try to do more listening than talking and try to stay out of their way. If they notice you, hopefully it's only because, you know, you're adding or keeping their eyes on the prize or on the purpose.

But they all do that so well. I don't think anybody would be here unless they'd done it. That's why we picked them.

Q. Just curious for all of you who are visiting San Francisco for the first time, what you thought about the place before you came, and after spending a week here what your thoughts are leaving? That's not for Andre, who used to live here.

ALEX MICHELSEN: Has anyone else been here for the first time, or is it just me? I'm from California. That's kind of embarrassing (laughing).

Yeah, I've never actually spent any time here, but it's been really incredible. I love the kind of hilly, you know. That's kind of how it is in the downtown. It's very hilly, and that kind of reminds me of Portugal, which is one of my favorite places.

Yeah, I mean, also winning helps you look at the place a little better. It makes everything -- all the bad things look good, right?

You can win anywhere and think the place is great. I think everyone here would agree with that, so yeah.