'Not Going To Be Same At Wimbledon': 'Respectful' Fritz On Roland Garros Booing
ATP
Taylor Fritz has hit back at the Roland Garros crowd that booed him off the court and the American said the same reception wouldn't greet him at Wimbledon.
In his epic second-round clash against French player Arthur Rinderknech at Roland Garros, Fritz eventually bested the home player by three sets to one in front of a passionate Parisian crowd. After the win, Fritz was booed insistently and he was unable to complete his post-match media duties because of the noise levels.
Winning for Fritz was an ideal remedy as he proceeded to hold his finger to his lips after his victory, which further enraged the already frustrated crowd. But, in an interview with inews, the 25-year-old said he held his composure and made the crowd look like the villains.
"I basically just said ‘Yeah, whatever, there’s a lot of people booing me,’ but then there’s all the kids and stuff with the balls [waiting for autographs],”- Fritz told inews
“I could very easily just walk off the court because everyone’s booing me but let me stop and I’ll sign all the autographs and take all the pictures. And if they still want to boo me, they’re just going to look really stupid.”
When reflecting on his fingers to lips moment to hush the crowd, Fritz was defensive of his decision and said he was within his rights to react in that manner. In addition, with Wimbledon on the horizon, the American player feels a similar reaction would never happen at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
“I didn’t want to do anything during the match because then it’s just going to make it worse and it was already just insane. I felt like I was respectful because I didn’t want to make it worse the whole time."
"So then when it was over, I said, ‘Whatever, if I’m going to take this s**t for three hours, I’m allowed to do this, it’s fine’. I feel like the fans should understand if they’re going to give it to me for three hours, then I’m totally within my boundaries to do that."
"It’s definitely not going to be the same at Wimbledon.”
