Taylor Fritz told his Wimbledon opponent, Arthur Rinderknech, to “have a nice flight home” after beating him in a second-round match after the Frenchman clipped the American ahead of their match up.
The pair got into a bit of a back-and-forth at the net after the 13th-seeded American’s 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory over France’s Rinderknech at the All England Club.
This was a rematch of a 2023 French Open contest that Fritz won in front of a rowdy partisan crowd, which he shushed afterward.
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Rinderknech made a reference to that earlier matchup during the lead up to Thursday’s meeting.
“The atmosphere will be quieter (than at Roland-Garros) and he won’t cry as much,” he said.
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Fritz addresses the comments with the Frenchman. Stan
“He whined a bit saying it was too noisy.
“I hold no grudge against him, but he was wrong if he thought the French crowd would send him kisses in between points.”
When Fritz heard it about it, he was not pleased.
“It’s just gives me extra fire, obviously. I’m a very chill person. I don’t do anything that could rub people the wrong way, so when someone kind of just goes out of their way to take a shot at me, then I’m not just going to take it,” said Fritz. “It gave me the extra fire to win.”
The Frenchman tried to explain himself after match point. Stan
So when it was time for the post-match handshake at the All England Club, there were some words exchanged.
“I just said, ‘Have a nice flight home,’” Fritz recounted.
According to Fritz, Rinderknech responded by pointing out that he’s still around in doubles.
“I said, ‘Oh, congrats. Good for you.’ Then he started acting like, ‘Why are you blah, blah, blah?’ I’m like, ‘Dude, you know what you said. You know what you said.’ Don’t disrespect me before the match and then expect me to be all nice after the match,” said Fritz, who will take on 24th-seeded Alejandro Tabilo of Chile on Saturday for a spot in the fourth round. “That’s not how it works.”
Rinderknech tries to speak to Fritz but he’s having none of it. Stan
At Roland Garros last year, spectators booed and whistled at Fritz after he eliminated Rinderknech, who was the last French man in the field. Fritz put a finger to his lips, then spread his arms to egg on the crowd and yelled, “Come on! I want to hear it!”
After clinching the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, Fritz mocked the crowd when he raised a finger to his lips in a shushing motion.
He was barely able to conduct his on-court interview due to boos and jeers.
“I love you guys,” Fritz said sarcastically.
“The crowd was just so great that I had to let it fire me up. They cheered so well for me, I wanted to make sure I won. Thanks.”