Several songs by pop duo LMFAO played throughout the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre Friday evening during the United Cup quarter-final tie between Germany and Greece. The reason why? Group member Stefan Gordy, better known as ‘Redfoo’, was at Ken Rosewall Arena taking in — and loving — the action.
“I came back here to visit a friend of mine and to bring my girlfriend here for the first time. We were thinking of fun things to do and we said, ‘Let's go to the United Cup’,” Gordy told ATPTour.com. “We saw the Demon [Alex de Minaur] beat Djokovic and we said, ‘Wait a second, he's going to be here in Sydney, and we're here before the AO'. And so it's just great.
“Then just seeing all the different countries, tonight was Germany and Greece, and just seeing that the people and the different, but then we're in Australia. And so it's just a phenomenal thing... It was some incredible tennis.”
Party rock is in the house tonight 🤘 🎸 🪩@Redfoo | @LMFAO | #UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/VYOs2xU1cp
— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 5, 2024
It was the first time Gordy had seen a teams event featuring countries competing against each other. There were certain aspects of the United Cup that caught his eye.
“That's great that everybody's watching each other. After they play, they're sitting down watching. I saw that the the team boxes were on the floor, which was cool to see,” Gordy said. “You could see the teams cheering… I thought it was fabulous seeing the different teams cheering the players on and stuff. I think it's a great format.”
Gordy explained that he plays tennis every day and keeps a close eye on the sport. He watched on TV as Maria Sakkari played for Greece a couple of nights ago and Alex de Minaur upset Novak Djokovic.
“I love it because it's like a mini Slam because you've got the women, the doubles, the men,” Gordy said. “I think it's a great thing.”
The man known for the song ‘Party Rock Anthem’ among other hits, Gordy had a party rolling through some of his favourite players to watch.
“Sabalenka I like. Powerful. I mean, just looks incredible. I'm looking to see Osaka play. There's a player that I know, Panna Udvardy that I have been sponsoring. She's playing qualies, so look for her,” Gordy said. “On the men's side. I always love Djokovic. I haven't seen Carlos [Alcaraz] play live, so that's incredible. I think Shelton has been captivating. I mean, just the power. He has everything.
“And Sinner. Sinner is somebody that, I think he's going to win a Slam this year. I've been watching him since the first time he came out. And then same with Tsitsipas. When I first saw both of them. I was like these players are phenomenal. They weren't always winning in the beginning, but I said just the game.
“But then the Demon. The Demon was incredible with Djokovic. And then tonight, Tsitsipas' backhand, a lot of people were talking about it. And tonight it looked phenomenal. So I think I think that's a big improvement. Because it just looked incredible.”
The United Cup semi-finals will be played Saturday, when Poland will face France and Australia will take on Germany.
