Taylor Fritz has expressed his disappointment with the public response to Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe's victory over Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer at the Laver Cup in September.
The pair had the opportunity to compete against Federer in his final career match, and they gave him a competitive match. The competitiveness really stood out in Tiafoe, who received the majority of the criticism on social media, especially after appearing to aim at both Federer and Nadal while they were at the net.
As another American Opelka pointed out, it's actually a fairly common tactic in the doubles as it gives the players very little room to operate.
"I was pretty upset to see how much hate Frances and Jack got for winning the match and Frances got for hitting Roger or hitting the ball at Rafa at net" admitted Fritz who referenced the aiming instance as well.
"This is not an exhibition. We are playing for a lot and for a lot of money. It bothered me a lot because I know Roger would have absolutely hated it if they just gave it to him."
The American recently claimed the Japan Open trophy in his first event since the Laver Cup. He grew up admiring Federer and confirmed that the retirement ceremony touched him: "I definitely cried a lot more than I thought I was going to."
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