The drama highlight so far in this years Wimbledon Championships surely was the Rinderknech Fritz matchup with the subsequent moment at the net. But the initial reason for this slightly complicated relationship dates back to 2023 Roland Garros.
Act 1 – Fritz vs France
We all know that the French crowd is a very emotional one, and one that favors their hometown heroes heavily. So it did not come as a surprise when they supported Arthur Rinderknech against Taylor Fritz in last year’s Roland Garros second round. But arguably they overstepped the line a couple of times, whistling out loud, booing Fritz and celebrating the American’s mistakes. Rinderknech tried to take advantage of the situation, animating the crowd and using their energy whenever possible. So, when Fritz finally won their encounter in four sets, he put his finger in front of his lips, telling the crowd to shush.
This ignited a heavy reaction, as the crowd booed Fritz and the interviewer, Marion Bartoli, for minutes and made any conversation impossible. After even telling the crowd that he loved their “support”, Fritz left the court without a proper interview and wasn’t exactly the crowd favorite for the remainder of the tournament. In later interviews he doubled down on his take, saying that the hostile environment was too much and that he wasn’t happy with either the fans and his opponent.
Act 2 – Meeting again in Wimbledon
When the draw came out for this year’s Wimbledon, the two “friends” found themselves in the same bracket again, with Fritz once again the clear favorite. And in an even matchup, Rinderknech beat Kei Nishikori in five sets, setting up another encounter between the two. Of course, journalists all around the globe were interested whether Rinderknech or Fritz still felt any animosity towards each other.
And while Fritz shrugged off these questions, the Frenchman wasn’t quite as reserved about his opponent. He said that due to the neutral atmosphere, Fritz „(…) won’t cry as much“ and „he was wrong if he thought the crowd would send him kisses“. This obviously wasn’t overheard by Fritz, who first won the match in four sets and then wished Rinderknech a „nice flight home“ at the net. The Frenchman wanted to talk it out, but a disgruntled Fritz just shrugged off his comments and wasn’t having any of it. After the match, he explained how the interview gave him extra motivation and he wanted to win in any case, given the comments.
A neutral view – no love lost, but who has the upper hand?
It is sure that the two opponents in this matchup won’t be best friends any time soon, but is there any player coming out of this as the winner? Well, first of all, Taylor Fritz was the winner on court in both matches and surely doesn’t care about the drama after this. But in my view, while his reaction in France was a bit over the top, he held the upper hand in Wimbledon from every point of view. The French crowd was hostile, yes, but he could have just celebrated his win and let it go. But so could have Rinderknech, whose comments in London were not only unsportsmanlike, but also strategically not too smart.
It motivated the American further and gave him that kind of extra boost, that you don’t want your opponent to have. And Fritz let him know after the match, without overdoing any of it or starting a bigger discussion on court. Of course, once again he could have let it go, but in my view he was well within his right to have a word about the comments made, especially after winning. Rinderknech on the other hand, was already at the limit back in Paris, playing with a crowd who was more than unsportsmanlike towards Fritz. But reigniting this feud one year later wasn’t too smart of a move.
In any case, let’s hope that this was the final act in this drama and that their next encounter will be focused on tennis only. After all, Taylor Fritz is one of the world’s top 20 players and Rinderknech is close to a career high as well, so they surely will meet again rather sooner than later.
What is your opinion on the feud? Let us know in the comments! And check out our preview for Monday’s match Fritz vs Zverev!
