Taylor Fritz ‘shushes’ French crowd after eliminating final hope
Taylor Fritz was described as ‘brave’ following his decision to ‘shush’ the French crowd, after eliminating their last singles player in the draw, Arthur Rinderknech.
Fritz lost the first set before fighting back to beat the ATP No.78, 2-6 6-4 6-3 6-4, in front of a hostile crowd on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
The American reacted by putting his finger to his lips at the end of the match, which was met by a rapture of boos from the Parisian’s who had hoped for a home singles player in the third round.
Former British tennis player Barry Cowan described Fritz as ‘brave’ on Eurosport commentary, “Well, you’ve got to be brave to do that and the French might not forget that.”
TAYLOR SAYS: 🤫@Taylor_Fritz97 takes out home favourite Arthur Rinderknech 2-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 to reach the third round in Paris!#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/Iqe9Vl0zSa
— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 1, 2023
Fritz also had to take part in a post-match interview on court with 2013 Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli, to which he responded to the only question in a sarcastic manner.
“I came out and the crowd was so great honestly. Like, the crowd was just so great,” Fritz remarked. “They cheered so well for me, I wanted to make sure that I won. Thanks, guys.”
"I love you guys" 😂
The French crowd 'loves' @Taylor_Fritz97 🤣🤫#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/UU1wj7qVs3
— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 1, 2023
Following the match Rinderknech defended the French crowd in his press conference, “In the U.S. the public even interacts in between the points. You can imagine here (at Roland Garros) if this had been the case, the match would have been crazy.”
He added, “Maybe in the U.S., the sound was a bit less. As long as people don’t shout during the points and things that have nothing to do with encouragement, then I’m in favour of it. It just makes the game even better.”
Fritz will be hoping that the French crowd forgets his ‘shushing’ when he takes on Francisco Cerundolo on Saturday, as he attempts to reach the fourth round of Roland Garros for the first time.
Taylor Fritz eliminating the final French player
Fritz beating Rinderknech meant that all 28 French singles players from the men’s and women’s draws were out before the third round, including fifth seed Caroline Garcia.
Knocked out in the first round:
ATP
Benoit Paire
Hugo Grenier
Arthur Fils
Constant Lestienne
Adrian Mannarino
Arthur Cazaux
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
Richard Gasquet
Alexandre Muller
Gregoire Barrere
Hugo Gaston
Quentin Halys
WTA
Fiona Ferro
Kristina Mladenovic
Clara Burel
Selena Janicijevic
Jessika Ponchet
Alize Cornet
Knocked out in the second round:
ATP
Lucas Pouille
Luca van Assche
Ugo Humbert
Corentin Moutet
Gael Monfils
Arthur Rinderknech
WTA
Diane Parry
Oceane Dodin
Leolia Jeanjean
Caroline Garcia
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