“Have a nice flight home,” Taylor Fritz hits back at Arthur Rinderknech for the Frenchman’s comments about him

The two players have been at loggerheads since the 2023 French Open.

“Have a nice flight home,” Taylor Fritz hits back at Arthur Rinderknech for the Frenchman’s comments about him

Arthur Rinderknech, Taylor Fritz (Images via Imago)

American Taylor Fritz was happy to see off Arthur Rinderknech at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. He sarcastically wished the Frenchman a safe flight back home after ending his campaign at SW19.

The two have been at loggerheads since their clash at the French Open last year. With the partisan home crowd behind him in Paris, Rinderknech won the first set before losing 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. After the match, Fritz held up his finger to shush the fans on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

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Rinderknech was unhappy with that gesture and brought it up before their clash at Wimbledon.

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The atmosphere will be quieter (than at Roland Garros) and he won’t cry as much. He whined a bit saying it was too noisy. I hold no grudge against him, but he was wrong if he thought the French crowd would send him kisses in between points.

Arthur Rinderknech said prior to his match against Taylor Fritz

After defeating Rinderknech 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 on Court 12, Fritz gave his opponent a piece of his mind on the court. He confirmed the same in his press conference later.

When we shook hands, I just said, ‘Have a nice flight home’.

Taylor Fritz said

Taylor Fritz explains his feelings towards Arthur Rinderknech

After bidding a sarcastic goodbye to Arthur Rinderknech on the court, Taylor Fritz explained his feelings at a press conference. He said that while he normally does his best to stay calm and avoids getting into verbal spats, he does not intend to back out if someone goes out of the way to take a jab at him.

Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz (Via Imago)

Fritz said that the Frenchman’s comments before the match gave him added motivation to beat him.

It just gives me extra fire, obviously. I'm a very chill person. I don't do anything that could rub people the wrong way. When someone 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.
Taylor Fritz said at his press conference

Fritz has shown good form at Wimbledon this year. He eased past Christopher O’Connell in his opening match and got the better of Rinderknech with only a minor blip in the third set. He is set to face Alejandro Tabilo in the third round at SW19.

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