'People Were Going Too Far': Roland Garros Tournament Director On Fritz Booing Incident
ATP
Taylor Fritz will remember the 2023 Roland Garros as an event where he was booed heavily more than once, though, he was not the only one.
This year's French Open could have easily been called 'Booland Garros' considering how his experience went. The American was cruising through the draw smoothly until he ran into Arthur Rinderknech who is a native player.
On that night, he was the only French player left in the ATP draw and he played probably the best match of his career. He gave the crowd a lot of hope of beating Fritz and they were strongly behind him.
Fritz's strong celebration earned him a shower of boos so much so that the post-match interview was pretty much impossible as the crowd really didn't stop. John McEnroe didn't mind it all though not all had that reaction. Fritz shared his thoughts on the situation as did his girlfriend who actually pulled out the camera to capture the moment.
The situation carried over to the next match as the American was booed while entering the court in his next match. His response was a peace sign which didn't do much to deter the crowd. It's a situation that tournament director Mauresmo addressed after the event as well.
There is only this evening, or maybe I have missed some, but I don't think so, there was this famous night when people were going too far. Everybody was really warmed up on the stands, as well. Well, there you go.
For the most part tennis players loved and praise the atmosphere which is traditionally good at Roland Garros. There was more booing this year compared to last year's event, with some players speaking out against it. Mauremsmo did ultimately praise the crowd for the atmosphere they created.
But apart from that episode, honestly, I think it's fantastic to have such an atmosphere. The atmosphere during the quallies, also that continues and reach the main draw, and even on Court 14. And after the first week in the main draw, that's fabulous.
