"Taylor Fritz is still pissed" - Frances Tiafoe jokes after losing escape room challenge to Jessica Pegula

The presence of top names like Taylor Fritz, Jessica Pegula and Frances Tiafoe have made the United States a title favorite since Day 1 of the inaugural United Cup.

If Tiafoe's words are anything to go by, the squad is having a gala time in Australia. Speaking to mediapersons at the press conference post his win against Poland's Kacper Żuk in the semifinal round, the American spoke at length about the team's off-court activities.

On being asked about a recent escape room challenge — wherein the Jessica Pegula-led American women beat their male counterparts — Tiafoe joked that Taylor Fritz was still "pissed" from the loss.

"Taylor Fritz is still pissed. I hope he loosens up for tomorrow," Frances Tiafoe joked, adding, "Yeah, it's just been great team energy. Jess hurt our team building yesterday after that. Both the guys and girls getting pretty heated there at the end."

Taifoe went on to add that Pegula was the de facto captain and the team followed her instructions.

"No, I mean, it was great to do stuff like that, and obviously Jess is our captain, making us do team outings like that," he added.

Shifting his focus to the tie against Poland, Tiafoe said he was inspired by Pegula's performance against World No. 1 Iga Swiatek — before jokingly attributing her stree-free performance to a "great text" he sent to her prior to the match.

"No, but it was great, honestly," Frances Tiafoe said. "Just, again, like seeing Jessica Pegula play today inspired me a lot. Super happy for her. The reason why she won, I sent a great text to her last night before she went to sleep, and I think that really motivated her."

Tiafoe also spoke about the team's warm-up sessions, saying he really enjoyed hitting the practice courts with Pegula and was looking forward to doing the same at the Australian Open.

"And obviously our warmups," he continued. "I think I'm going to be on the team, on her team after this week. I think the Australian Open is probably my last event. I'm just going to be following Jess Pegula around."

Taylor Fritz looks to build on Jessica Pegula, Frances Tiafoe wins

Jessica Pegula in action at the 2023 United Cup.

Jessica Pegula got the American side off to a flying start in the semifinal tie against Poland, ousting World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in a straight-sets match. Not only did Pegula earn her side a crucial point, she also posted her second win over Swiatek in six meetings.

Frances Tiafoe followed the win with a victory of his own against Poland's Kacper Żuk, putting his side in a comfortable 2-0 heading into Day 2. Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys are scheduled to take on Hubert Hurkacz and Magda Linette in the other singles matches. A win from Fritz, however, would seal the tie for the United States.