McEnroe loves Fritz firing back at the crowd in Rinderknech Roland Garros win: "I like to see a little confrontation"
ATPFriday, 02 June 2023 at 13:00
Taylor Fritz fired back at the crowd last night at the French Open in truly incredible scenes as he shushed the partisan crowd ala Daniil Medvedev and continued to do so as he was getting booed on the courts of Roland Garros.
Taking down Frenchman, Arthur Rinderknech, he rose to the occasion seeing off the home hero amid the wall of noise and John McEnroe in particular was left impressed.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner said he reminded him of Medvedev and that he loves to see antics like that on court.
“I can relate to fans being against me, so respect for Taylor. I love that,” said McEnroe.
“[A hostile crowd] can be extremely intimidating, but it also can be very inspiring. You can use that negative fuel to your advantage.
"I like to see a little confrontation" - McEnroe
“I’ve got to hand it to Fritz, he’s done an incredible job getting himself in tip-top shape, he’s one of the best ball strikers that you’ll see on a tennis court, and he battles.
“He’s got some personality. I’ve been saying this for 50 years, but you play one-on-one against someone, you need that intensity.
“I think Taylor rose to the occasion. He’s a better player than Rinderknech in my opinion, I don’t think it’s a huge upset that he won that match.
“But I like to see a little confrontation, a la [Daniil] Medvedev a couple of years ago at the (US) Open.”
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Fritz handled it incredibly - McEnroe
McEnroe continued and said that on his own personal experience, Fritz believes in himself and handled it superbly.
“If you know Fritz, you know he’s got a bit of that. He’s very confident, as he should be, and you need to be to be a top player. On the court you don’t see it as often, but off the court you feel that,” he added.
“I’ve been with him a couple of years as Laver Cup captain and he’s like ‘I’ve got this, I know exactly what to do.’ He believes in himself, and you have to believe in yourself.
“This is what it’s all about – Americans coming to Paris or vice versa, you know the crowd is going to be against you and you’re pumped up for it.
“That’s exactly what Fritz did – I thought he handled it incredibly.”
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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