Taylor Fritz called out for 'inappropriate' Wimbledon gesture by BBC pundit
Taylor Fritz's actions at Wimbledon were condemned during the BBC's coverage.
BBC Wimbledon pundit Pat Cash described Taylor Fritz's conversation at the net with his opponent as "inappropriate" before the American took on Lorenzo Musetti in his SW19 quarter-final.
In the second round, Fritz defeated Arthur Rinderknech 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-4 in a grudge rematch of their French Open clash. Ahead of their contest at the summer Slam, the Frenchman mocked Fritz.
He said that at Wimbledon "the atmosphere will be quieter and he won't cry as much" compared to their previous meeting.
Fritz, who was unhappy with the crowd at Roland Garros, then pulled Rinderknech to the net after winning at Wimbledon and told him: "Have a nice flight home."
Related articles
And previewing Fritz's quarter-final with Musetti, Cash was not a fan of the interaction. "Yeah that's not cool, that's not good," Cash said as he lamented the comment. "That's not good, it's inappropriate and he doesn't have a lot of mates on this tour, does he?
"(But) he doesn't really care, he wants to get out there and does his stuff, he's not overly friendly but he doesn't care. You're not going to get any more mates from saying 'have a flight home' though."
Fritz claimed that he had extra "fire" and motivation to defeat Rinderknech because of his comments leading up to their contest.
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
"I'm a very chill person," he said after the match. "I don't do anything that could rub people the wrong way, so when someone kind of just goes out of their way to take a shot at me, then I'm not just going to take it. It gave me the extra fire to win."
He then recounted: "I just said, 'have a nice flight home'."
Fritz said that Rinderknech replied by informing the American that he was still due to play in doubles at the Championships: "I said, 'oh, congrats. Good for you.' Then he started acting like, 'why are you blah, blah, blah?'
"I'm like, 'dude, you know what you said'. Don't disrespect me before the match and then expect me to be all nice after the match. That's not how it works."
Fritz made headlines again at the net after coming back to defeat Alexander Zverev in five sets. He was pulled in close for a lengthy conversation by the world No. 4 who complained about some of the members of Fritz's box at Centre Court.
However, both players later played down the incident in their press conferences, as Fritz's girlfriend Morgan Riddle deleted two posts she made on social media during and after their match.
