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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