Taylor Fritz takes classy way out in reaction to Alexander Zverev's complaint

Taylor Fritz came from two sets down to defeat Alexander Zverev in the fourth round of Wimbledon. Zverev came into the match after recently injuring his knee, but he had his leg wrapped and until late in the match, he didn't seem overly hobbled by the issue. Fritz was simply the better player beginning in set three so there are no real excuses for the German.

Immediately following the ending of the match was almost as noteworthy as the match itself, however. Zverev stopped Fritz and had a longer-than-usual discussion with him. Spectators and people watching from home could tell from each player's face that something interesting was being said other than a "Good match and good luck" kind of thing.

As it turns out, the German had a problem with some of the people in the American's box. Zverev pointed out that the issue wasn't Fritz's coach or other tennis-related people, but persons that are "not...from the tennis world." In other words, Zverev seemed to be pointing out that Fritz's girlfriend, Morgan Riddle, was being too loud.

Taylor Fritz takes the high road in new Alexander Zverev beef

Later in the day and after the match, Riddle wrote a since-deleted Instagram post that Fritz's victory was a "win for the girls." This seemed to be a direct response to Zverev's multiple domestic abuse allegations. Possibly Riddle was reacting to what Fritz said Zverev said. Maybe there is a deeper issue that Zverev simply doesn't like Riddle, otherwise why point out she is being too loud?

Plus, Riddle is not new to tennis. She has been watching Fritz play matches for years now so if the German is not implying Riddle doesn't know about tennis decorum then that would seemingly be incorrect. It just feels like there is an underlying part to the story that neither player is saying out loud in public.

Fritz, however, chose to rise above a situation where he easily could have sunk to name-calling or being overly sensitive. His complaining about another player on tour would not be new because he did so earlier at Wimbledon when he reacted to something Arthur Rinderknech said in 2023. Players don't forget because they see each other in locker rooms between matches.

Zverev did say Fritz was a good guy and wasn't trying to personally attack him. Whether the American felt he was being attacked or not, he chose to deflect and take the high road. In other words, the classy move.

Fritz said in a post-match press conference, "(What happened at) the net, like, it’s no big deal. I think he felt that he was for parts, I guess towards the end of the fifth at least, kind of limping around a bit. I think he was annoyed at some people in my box just being loud, cheering for me. Honestly, I can’t hear. I don’t know. Like, no big deal. He said it’s nothing towards me or anything like that."

While Zverev goes to heal and think about his next tournament, Fritz continued his play into the Wimbledon quarterfinals. He will play Lorenzo Musetti for a spot in the semifinals. His best previous showing at Wimbledon was also making it as far as the quarterfinals in 2022.

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