Morgan Riddle took to social media to celebrate after her boyfriend Taylor Fritz beat Alexander Zverev at the US Open on Tuesday.
Fritz eliminated Zverev in New York with a four-set victory to reach the US Open semi-finals in the latest installment of a tennis rivalry that has seen Riddle take centre stage.
It was after the five-set thriller at this year’s Wimbledon that Zverev expressed his displeasure at the noise coming from the Fritz box, where his girlfriend Morgan Riddle was sitting.
Adding to the intrigue was a curious social media post by Riddle that many interpreted as a reference to the 2020 domestic abuse allegations against Zverev.
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.”
Morgan Riddle took to social media after her boyfriend Taylor Fritz reached the US Open semi-finals
Riddle celebrated Fritz reaching his first career Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open
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.
But on Tuesday night in New York, Riddle’s approach was more cautious. He shared a video of Arthur Ashe taking in the surroundings and, alongside three nail polish emojis, wrote: “Semifinalsssss.”
Some may consider the choice of emoji to be a flirtatious gesture (the nail polish emoji is used by some to indicate cheekiness or self-confidence), but Riddle’s use of it was rather ambiguous.
For Fritz, who won 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6, it was a historic moment in his career as he reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time.
Speaking on court after the win, she said: ‘I’ve watched the quarter-finals a lot over the last few years, and today felt different.
‘It’s great to be in the semi-finals, but I have the mentality that ‘the job is not done’.
‘One question I was asked pretty much every time I lost in the quarterfinals was, “What does it take to go further?” And the answer I always gave was, “I just keep putting myself in these situations, I’ll get more comfortable in them and I’ll get better.”
“That’s what happened now. The quarter-finals didn’t seem as important to me as they did in the past.”
Fritz was delighted with his victory, but insisted that the hard work was just beginning.
Zverev, for his part, was furious about the state of his game after the defeat in New York.
Zverev, for his part, said he felt “angry” about losing to Fritz.
“My backhand, I can’t remember since I’ve been on tour hitting it that bad,” he said.
‘I mean, I was missing shots that were in the middle of the court and out of rhythm.
“Actually, my forehand was fine. My serve was fine. But my most reliable shot, the shot I’m most known for, the shot I usually wake up at 3 in the morning with and don’t miss, wasn’t up to par today.”
