“If I couldn’t beat him then I don’t deserve it,” Taylor Fritz dismisses all talks of himself being promoted into the semifinals as the ‘lucky loser’ after Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal
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Taylor Fritz and Rafael Nadal
Taylor Fritz‘s dream run at Wimbledon 2022 came to a heartbreaking end after he lost to 22-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals in five sets 6-3,5-7,6-3,5-7,6-7(4-10). Having won Eastbourne International a week earlier, Fritz was on an 8-match winning streak and looked solid all week long at SW19.
He was yet to drop a set all-tournament until he met Nadal. The Spaniard struggled with an abdomen injury throughout the match but despite Fritz’s solid effort, Nadal somehow managed to cross the finish line. Even Fritz later admitted that it was visible in Nadal’s game that he was struggling.
To his dismay, Nadal announced a day later that he is withdrawing from the semifinal match due to his injury, which meant that his opponent Nick Kyrgios got a bye in the semifinals. After Nadal’s decision, there were many talks of the situation being a circus as a semifinal of a grand slam tournament won’t be played.
Many even suggested that there should be a rule in tennis that promotes the loser into the next round in case of a withdrawal so that there can at least be a match in place. Fritz was quick to dismiss this notion and said that If he couldn’t beat Nadal, then he doesn’t deserve to play in the semifinals.
“Nah, not looking for handouts, if I couldn’t beat him then I don’t deserve to be in semis…simple as that,” Fritz said. Due to his immense gamesmanship, Fritz was lauded by fans on the internet.
Should Taylor Fritz be promoted into the semifinals?
There is no ruling of a loser being promoted into the next round in tennis. The closest to this rule is that of a ‘lucky loser’ which only takes place in qualifying if the main draw spot opens up. Tennis has always been played in a knockout format but many suggested that it might be worth exploring to promote a loser into the next round in case of a withdrawal.
Journalist Christopher Clarey raised this thought about the same and received mixed responses about it.
Former American tennis star Pam Shriver too felt bad for Taylor Fritz and questioned whether we should re-examine the lucky loser’s rule as it might be outdated with regard to contemporary tennis.
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)