A tennis rhyme: Fritz suffers defeat, Shelton’s response is a cheeky treat

America’s young tennis star Ben Shelton has a cheeky response for fellow countryman Taylor Fritz after he wrote a heartbreak post on social media platform following his defeat at Wimbledon. The third Grand Slam of the year is moving towards conclusion where remaining players are putting their all to secure the ultimate prize.

America’s Fritz suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the quarterfinal to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in a five-set thriller with a score of 3-6, 7-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. After the result, the 26-year-old suffered wrote an emotional post on the social media platform Instagram where he stated how difficult it is to go back home after coming so close to the ultimate prize.

"Tough match yesterday, always hurts to come up just short but that’s part of the game. Now all I can do is rest up, get back to work, and have a good flight home," he wrote. In response to that, Shelton posted a cheeky comment by writing: "Safe flight. I already had one myself.” Shelton himself suffered a tough defeat to current world number one Italy’s Jannik Sinner in the round of 16 in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-4, 7-6.

The result was a heartbreaking one for Fritz, not only because he lost a five-setter in a Grand Slam but also because it was the third occasion in the last four Grand Slams where the San Diego-born star suffered a defeat in the last-eight.

Fritz suffered a defeat in the quarterfinal of the US Open in 2023 to the world number two Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Earlier this year, the world number 12 lost in the quarterfinal of the Australian Open to once again Djokovic, who came out on top in a four-setter with a score of 7-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.