Taylor Fritz made a joke about Novak Djokovic and the US Open but the quote made its way to social media earning him backclash.
Fritz added a joke after expressing his thoughts on the entire Djokovic-US Open controversy without saying anything particularly offensive. He noted that it would be better for all participants if Djokovic skipped the occasion, but the quote's misuse on social media caused havoc.
"We're not the most COVID-safe country in general with how we are doing things. So it does seem like what's the harm of letting the best player in the world come play the US Open. But at the same time, I don't know how I feel about making exceptions just for one person just because of who they are. So I see both sides of the argument. It's good for every player if Novak is not in the draw (smiles)."
The shortened version of the quote was spread among Djokovic fans on Twitter causing Fritz major backlash. In response to that, Fritz tweeted:
"Nothing new just me getting ripped for making a joke about Novak being better than everyone. The issue with press transcripts is it’s just raw text and it’s not clear the manner in how things are said. What I jokingly said, felt like a compliment to Novak more than anything else."