Inaugural United Cup champions Team United States have their sights on Melbourne Park after Taylor Fritz clinched a 3-0 victory in the deciding tie over Italy in the final on Sunday night.

After a late-night celebration featuring bouts of beer pong, the players praised the new tournament, which pitched nations against each other rather than individual players, and backed the format after Rafael Nadal called for a schedule re-think.

“Honestly, I think this event is amazing,” said world No.11 Madison Keys. “All of us want more events like this now just because it was so much fun. And it was so different. And I think the fans obviously really enjoyed it as well, to see ATP and WTA players together.

“I mean, Taylor’s already talking about defending our title next year.”

The man dubbed “Clinch Fritz” by teammate Frances Tiafoe won the championship point for the Americans in a second-set tiebreaker against world No.16 Matteo Berrettini.

“There’s so much more pressure on the matches,” said World No.9 Fritz. “It just feels bigger because you’re playing for other people as well.”

Fritz said the team let him do his “own thing” in the crucial match. “Everyone has their own process. You don’t want to mess with someone during the match,” he said.

Keys played against Lucia Bronzetti after the championship was already decided, but said she didn’t mind taking to court for the dead rubber to compete for ranking points. “It’s still a valid match,” she said. “We obviously both still wanted to win.”