Taylor Fritz has revealed what Alexander Zverev told her immediately after a five-set battle at Wimbledon erupted into a row involving the American’s girlfriend.
Zverev accused members of Fritz’s box of “overreacting” after the 13th seed’s stunning comeback from two sets down on Centre Court.
Both during and after the match, Morgan Riddle appeared to attack the world number four, who has been accused of abuse. He denies any wrongdoing.
Following Fritz’s victory, the two players had a tense exchange of words at the net. During the on-court interview, Fritz was asked what had been said: “Everything is fine,” he insisted.
“Obviously with his knee I felt like in the fifth set he wasn’t moving as well, so I just wished him the best.”
Taylor Fritz has revealed what Alexander Zverev said after their five-set battle at Wimbledon
Fritz told the Tennis Channel that Zverev might have been annoyed by his team’s applause.
Social media influencer Riddle, who has 17.2 million likes on TikTok, posted a video on Instagram after the match. It showed her celebrating the win and included the caption: “When your man wins for the girls.” The story now appears to have been deleted.
Earlier, while the match was taking place, she had She posted a photo of the court on her story and wrote: “Keep up the good work ladies.” That post appears to have been deleted as well.
Fritz later sat down for an interview with The Tennis Channel and shed more light on the dispute.
‘I think he was a little upset because my teammates were cheering me up when he got injured, but he said, ‘It’s nothing to do with you. Everyone’s fine…’ It doesn’t matter, everything’s fine.’
Fritz added: “I didn’t wish him a flight home.”
The German, who was accused in court documents last year of physically abusing a woman in 2020, accepted a plea deal in the case last month. He agreed to pay Brenda Patea, the mother of his child, $217,820 but was found not guilty of any wrongdoing (Patea publicly identified himself as the victim in the case).
Zverev said afterwards that he was upset with some people in Fritz’s box who “may not be from the tennis world.”
“His team is extremely respectful. I think his coach, his physiotherapist and also his second coach are extremely respectful,” Zverev said.
Zverev accused certain members of Fritz’s box of being “exaggerated” during the match
Riddle also posted a story saying ‘cheer hard ladies’ during the five-set match.
“I think there are other people who may be in the draw who are not part of the tennis world, who are not exactly the kind of people who watch every match. They went a bit overboard.”
Last October, the Berlin-Tiergarten court issued a fine order of around $488,000 against Zverev, who has denied Patea’s allegations of abuse. A month later, he called the order “complete stupidity.”
Patea told German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung that Zverev strangled her during an argument. Zverev has also been accused of domestic violence by Olga Sharypova, another tennis player and his former girlfriend.
Sharypova made the allegations, also denied by Zverev, in 2020, accusing him of punching her in the face and suffocating her with a pillow.
The ATP investigated the allegations (through an outside firm) for 15 months but ultimately did not discipline Zverev due to insufficient evidence.
Following their agreement in June, Zverev said: “I told him from the beginning, I told everyone. I’m happy it’s over. Yeah, there’s nothing more to say.”
After beating Zverev 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-3, Fritz will face Lorenzo Musetti for a chance to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final.
Fritz made a stunning comeback on Centre Court to defeat Zverev on Monday
Riddle and Taylor Fritz, the world number 14 in tennis, have been dating for four years.
Fritz, 26, and Riddle have been dating for the past four years, with the latter establishing herself as a prominent social media content creator.
While she has frequently documented how she happily participates in Fritz’s tournaments, earlier this year she spoke of her “terrifying” experience at the Super Bowl after being “groped” and “harassed” by male NFL fans.
The influencer revealed that she had an “extremely stressful” time at Allegiant Stadium.
Riddle detailed his traumatic experience on Instagram after the Chiefs-49ers game, admitting that it caused him to have a panic attack in the bathroom during the third quarter.
“I didn’t intend to post about this but I think it’s important to do so,” she wrote. “I can’t believe the levels of harassment we experienced this weekend from men.”
‘Over the last three days I’ve been grabbed, groped, harassed, catcalled non-stop, basically every few minutes when we’re out in public. And today it was really bad at the game.
Riddle has amassed a huge following on social media by showcasing his life around tennis.
“We couldn’t even enjoy the game without being bothered by drunk, rude and disgusting fans. It’s extremely stressful and scary.”
Riddle seemed to be having a much better time Monday as she smiled from the stands and recorded her boyfriend’s game on her phone.
Fritz will face Musetti on Wednesday.