Taylor Fritz trolls opponent in heated Wimbledon exchange after being ‘disrespected’ for ‘whining’
Taylor Fritz made sure he had the last laugh against Arthur Rinderknech.
The American reignited his bitter feud with the Frenchman after claiming a 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory on Court 12 at Wimbledon on Thursday.
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During their post-match handshake at the net, Fritz told his opponent to 'have a nice flight home' after dumping him out of the tournament.
The spicy second-round match had plenty of needle following their spiky encounter at the French Open last year.
Fritz defeated Rinderknech in front of a partisan Parisian crowd and incurred the wrath of the Roland Garros crowd by shushing them and sarcastically blowing kisses.
Rinderknech took issue with the gesture back then and seemingly feels just as strongly about it now.
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Ahead of his clash with Fritz at SW19, Rinderknech told French sports outlet L’Equipe that Fritz had 'whined' in Paris and that he thought the American 'won’t cry as much' in London.
"He [Taylor Fritz] won’t cry as much. He whined a bit saying it was too noisy," the world no. 76 said.
"I hold no grudge against him but he was wrong if he thought the crowd would send him kisses in between points."
Fritz heard Rinderknech's remarks on the eve of their most recent encounter and admitted it fired him up.
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“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,” Fritz said.
“It gave me the extra fire to win.”
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Fritz, fuelled by Rinderknech's comments, got the better of his bitter rival to come away with victory.
As they met at half-court, the American star went out of his way to further rub salt in the wound.
“When we shook hands, I just said, ‘Have a nice flight home’,” Fritz explained 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 - don’t disrespect me before the match and then expect me to be all nice after the match’".
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios loved the back and forth, writing on X: "This is what the sport needs @Taylor_Fritz97 cheeky…"
Fritz, a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon in 2022, is bidding to become the first American male to win a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick in 2003.
He entered this year's championships in fine form having recently won his third Eastbourne title.
The no.13 seed cruised past Christopher O’Connell 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in his opening match at The All England Club before overwhelming Rinderknech in the second round.
Fritz will face No.24 Alejandro Tabilo of Chile for a place in the last 16 while Rinderknech, still in doubles with Nuno Borges, is back in action on Court 16 on Friday.
He faces British doubles pair Charles Broom and Arthur Fery.
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