They meet again.
Taylor Fritz and rival Alexander Zverev will meet in Queens on Tuesday in the quarter-finals of the US Open, where the two will meet from the round of 16 at Wimbledon. Fritz overcame a shaky start to eventually dominate eighth seed Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday, while Zverev beat American Brandon Nakashima 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
It was at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in July where Fritz claimed a five-set victory over fourth-ranked Zverev, who later appeared to come in for some criticism from Fritz’s girlfriend Morgan Riddle over domestic abuse allegations in 2020.
Riddle, a social media influencer who has 17.2 million likes on TikTok, has since deleted an Instagram video that included the caption: “when your man beats the girls 4x.”
Zverev agreed to pay about $240,000 in a settlement in June with his accuser, the mother of his child, but has not been convicted of any crime and maintains his innocence.
Taylor Fritz reacts after winning his round of 16 singles match against Casper Ruud
Morgan Riddle, Taylor Fritz’s girlfriend, was present at his victory over Casper Ruud on Sunday
Alexander Zverev (GER) reacts after winning a point against Brandon Nakashima (USA)
Riddle has since claimed that he was not referring to Zverev, as many Fritz fans believed.
“Regarding my stories from yesterday… I took them down as soon as I realized the misunderstanding and how exaggerated they had become by the media,” she said in a later video.
‘It wasn’t about anything that happened off the tennis court and there’s no bad blood between anyone.
‘I’m very proud of T (Taylor) for yesterday’s game, thanks to the crowd for the support and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s game.’
There were other problems between Fritz, Riddle and Zverev.
After the five-set match at Wimbledon, both players had a tense exchange at the net.
The German said afterwards that he was upset with some people in Fritz’s box who “may not be from the tennis world.”
Riddle was sitting in Fritz’s box that day.
Morgan Riddle celebrates from Taylor Fritz’s box his victory over Alexander Zverev in London
Fritz (right) and Zverev (left) had a long discussion after the American’s victory at Wimbledon.
“His team is extremely respectful. I think his coach, his physiotherapist and also his second coach are extremely respectful,” Zverev said.
“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.”
Zverev and Fritz have since spoken, the American told reporters at Wimbledon.
“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.”
On Sunday, Fritz became the first American to reach the US Open quarterfinals since Andy Roddick in 2007.
Morgan Riddle, girlfriend of Taylor Fritz, is seen at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens
“I think as you get better, your expectations go up,” said Fritz, who is 0-4 in Grand Slam quarterfinals (including last year’s US Open). “What makes you satisfied, what makes you happy in terms of ranking and results, that goes up as well.
“I think in the past I’ve been very, very excited and happy to reach the quarter-finals at Grand Slams. I think I’m at a point now where I’m still happy to reach the quarter-finals, but I wouldn’t want it to end here.”
There were certainly moments on Sunday when Fritz’s self-confidence was put to the test. Before reaching a second (and successful) set point to tie the match, and with Louis Armstrong Stadium in full roar, he fired into the net after a long rally and dropped his racket in frustration (he explained afterwards that he was unhappy with the ball bouncing badly on the line).
But rather than let the opportunity pass, Fritz dusted himself off to grab his first break of the afternoon soon after and eventually win the match in commanding fashion.
Zverev reached the US Open final in 2020, when he lost to Austrian Dominic Thiem, and reached the final at Roland Garros earlier this year.