Taylor Fritz has cold exchange with opponent after Wimbledon match

Taylor Fritz had a cold exchange with Arthur Rinderknech after their second-round match at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, England on Thursday.

Fritz won the match against the Frenchman 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. After the match, the two went for their handshake at the net. Fritz told Rinderknech, “have a nice flight home” after they shook hands.

Why the negative message? It was due to something Rinderknech said prior to their Thursday match.

Rinderknech was asked to compare the meeting between the two at the French Open last year with what he expected the atmosphere to be like at the All England Club. Rinderknech answered in French and said the atmosphere would be more relaxed compared to their French Open meeting when the home crowd favored Rinderknech. Rinderknech also said that Fritz probably wouldn’t complain/whine in their Wimbledon match the way he did in their French Open match.

“The atmosphere will be calmer (than at Roland in 2023) and he will cry a little less. He was a little whiny. I have nothing against him, but if he expected the French public to give him kisses between points, it was a bad time,” Rinderknech said, according to Google Translate.

Fritz saw the quote and did not appreciate it.

“As soon as I saw it, the match was basically over. 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. It gave me the extra fire to win. When we shook hands, I just said have a nice flight home,” Fritz told reporters after the match.

When Rinderknech questioned Fritz about the odd handshake after their match, Fritz told his opponent, “you know what you did.”

Fritz elaborated more on the situation after the match.

“He asked me what I said. I told him what I said. He told me he was in doubles still. 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. That’s not how it works.”

Fritz remembers very well what happened at the French Open last year. He shushed the crowd after winning and then was booed for a minute and a half by the fans while waiting for his on-court interview.

Fritz took things personally Thursday and then took care of business on the court. He has moved on to the third round of the tournament. The 26-year-old American’s best previous finish at Wimbledon was a quarterfinal appearance in 2022.

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