WATCH: Taylor Fritz gets infuriated by spectator’s disturbing shout costing him the set against Novak Djokovic

WATCH: Taylor Fritz gets infuriated by spectator’s disturbing shout costing him the set against Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz

Taylor Fritz stunned the world last week when he beat the 2022 French Open champion, Rafael Nadal, in his first Group stage match in the 2022 ATP Finals. The world could not believe it further when he advanced into the semi-final round, along with Casper Ruud from the Green Group.

He was looking good in the semi-final match against Novak Djokovic, too. He was able to dominate the match in the first set and was on the brink of winning that set until he blew it up.

YouTube video

It so happened that the World No.9 was dominating the second set at 5-4. He had already lost the first set but was looking determined to win this one. The points soon tied at 30-30 and Fritz was serving for the second set. A spectator shouted fairly loudly as he prepared to hit a backhand into the open side of the court to set up a set point with a winner along the line. Fritz’s backhand, however, sailed into the net, awarding Djokovic a break point in its place. After that point, Taylor Fritz was incensed and expressed his dissatisfaction with the audience’s behavior.

FS Video

“This was tough. There was drama as Taylor Fritz looked to serve out the second set against Djokovic…” The American sports broadcaster Tennis TV posted small footage of the match with this caption.

In the post-match interview, Taylor Fritz shared his own opinions about the incident.

“Someone just like flat-out screaming to like purposely try and throw you off – it’s not something you’re ever used to. So when it happens, it’s an absolute shock. It’s disgusting man,” he said.

On the following point, Fritz’s backhand went long, further infuriating him, and Djokovic eventually broke into the American’s serve. Djokovic continued to take the second set in a tie-break to win the match 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (8-6).

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Social media is confused whether it was a deliberate action by Taylor Fritz

Taylor Fritz in Citi Open 2022
Taylor Fritz

Taylor Fritz did not qualify for the 2022 season-ending prestigious tournament. He was ranked as World No.9. Everyone, including himself, thought that his 2022 season is over after he lost against Gilles Simon in the second round of the Paris Masters tournament. But an unfortunate injury to Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final round of the competition led to his withdrawal from the ATP Finals. The American got entry into the prestigious tournament as Seed #8.

He made the most of his chance as he was able to defeat some of the biggest names in the sport and reached the semi-finals. However, this loss against Novak Djokovic will hurt him because he could have won the set and taken the match into the third set.

“Now is probably not the best time for me to give a good answer for the reflection of the week because I’m extremely upset about the match, more so about the things that happened in a match that I can’t control,” he said in the same interview.

On the question of what can be done when such an incident occurs or whether replaying the point is an option, Taylor Fritz conceded that there are no such rules and it would be not in the right spirit of the sport if it is allowed.

“What can you do? If you make a rule that you can replay the point, then the guy’s just going to yell when I’m about to win a point, and then we’re going to have to replay and it’ll happen the reverse way. I can’t expect anybody to be like, ‘replay the point,’ because in that situation I can’t say that I would do that either. I kinda got screwed, and there’s nothing that can really be done about it,” he further answered.

Meanwhile, social media users are questioning whether Taylor Fritz was distracted, or the American is doing drama.

Taylor Fritz must be proud of his achievements this year. He was able to play the semi-final match at the 2022 ATP Finals is a memory that he will cherish forever. This is the first time, but surely not the last time. We wish to see him play outstanding next year in the Grand Slams and other tournaments.

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