Fritz admitted those comments fired him up for their All England Club duel
USA’s Taylor Fritz returns to France’s Arthur Rinderknech during their second-round clash at Wimbledon in London yesterday. PIC/AFP
Taylor Fritz reignited his bitter feud with Arthur Rinderknech at Wimbledon on Thursday when he told the Frenchman: “Dude, don’t disrespect me.”
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USA’s 13th seed Fritz won their second-round clash 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Last year, Fritz defeated Rinderknech in front of a baying crowd at the French Open and attracted the wrath of the Roland Garros crowd by shushing them and sarcastically blowing kisses.
On the eve of Thursday’s match Rinderknech told French sports daily L’Equipe that Fritz had “whined” in Paris and that he thought the American “won’t cry as much” in London. Fritz admitted those comments fired him up for their All England Club duel. “When we shook hands, I just said, ‘Have a nice flight home,’ ” said Fritz.
“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, don’t disrespect me before the match and then expect me to be all nice after the match.’ ”
Other key results
Women’s singles:
>> J Paolini bt B Andreescu 7-6 (7-4), 6-1
>> D Kasatkina lost to P Badosa 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 4-6
Men’s singles:
>> C Alcaraz bt F Tiafoe 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 ( 7-2), 6-2
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