LONDON – It was cold and rainy in London, but inside Centre Court (with the retractable roof closed), the press room and on social media, the temperature was sky-high on Monday, July 8.
Taylor Fritz came from two sets down to defeat Alexander Zverev in the round of 16 at Wimbledon. The German was 4-3 up in the third set with a bruised knee after a nasty fall in the previous match against Cameron Norrie. Zverev got upset with what he heard from the North American’s box because “other people who are not from the tennis world stepped over the line.”
“He was upset about the support coming from my team when he was injured. I wasn’t wishing him a safe flight home,” Fritz clarified on Tennis Channel about the exchange with Zvererv, as well as alluding to the controversy he had with Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in second round.
“I was on one leg…. the match did not have a high level,” Zverev said in front of the media.
Morgan Riddle (Taylor Fritz’s girlfriend) on Instagram after his win from two sets to love down against Alexander Zverev at #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/MiFzymnoIM
— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) July 8, 2024
Morgan Riddle, Fritz’s girlfriend, was the protagonist
Morgan Riddle, Fritz’s girlfriend uploaded to her Instagram stories (@moorrgs) a video of her incluing a message clearly targeting the German. “When your man wins for the girls,” read the post, which a few minutes later she deleted. Zverev went through a court trial in Germany accused of domestic violence against his ex-partner. The tiral finished after the tennis player reached a financial settlement with the plaintiff.
Next up was Novak Djokovic’s turn to have the umpteenth round against his haters after a confusing situation. The boo-like noise made throughout the match by fans supporting Holger Rune irritated Djokovic. “I’ve been on more hostile courts, you guys can’t touch me,” the Serb fired back in the on-court interview.
In the opposite building, the media building, an hour later, Djokovic was again irritated: “Are you going to keep asking me about the crowd? That’s the third time you’ve asked about that, so you’re not going to talk to me about tennis, about the match, about my opponent?” The 24-time Grand Slam champion got annoyed with the BBC Sports journalist on the terrace of the broadcasting. The interviewer argued that it was the topic that was generating media attention. The Serb’s team and the ATP official tried to cut the exchange, until the journalist managed to ask him about Alex de Minaur, his opponent in the quarterfinals. The Serb answered.
Then, he would say in conference in front of the written press: “If someone goes over the line, I react. That was it. After the match I said what I said”.
