John McEnroe applauded Taylor Fritz for not backing down when confronted by the French Open crowd.
On Thursday night, American tennis star Fritz defeated France’s Arthur Rinderknech 2-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 in the French Open second round.
From the moment Fritz stepped onto the court, he started receiving a very hostile reception from the French crowd.
After completing a four-set win over Rinderknech, Fritz let it all out as he repeatedly shushed the French Open crowd.
McEnroe, an American tennis legend, loved seeing Fritz handling the business on the court and then firing back at the crowd.
McEnroe applauds Fritz over firing back at the French Open crowd
“I can relate to fans being against me, so respect for Taylor. I love that. [A hostile crowd] can be extremely intimidating, but it also can be very inspiring. You can use that negative fuel to your advantage. I’ve got to hand it to Fritz, he’s done an incredible job getting himself in tip-top shape, he’s one of the best ball strikers that you’ll see on a tennis court, and he battles. He’s got some personality. I’ve been saying this for 50 years, but you play one-on-one against someone, you need that intensity. I think Taylor rose to the occasion. He’s a better player than Rinderknech in my opinion, I don’t think it’s a huge upset that he won that match. But I like to see a little confrontation, a la [Daniil] Medvedev a couple of years ago at the (US) Open,” McEnroe told Eurosport.
After Fritz repeatedly shushed the crowd, the boos increased.
Marion Bartoli, who was attempting to conduct an on-court interview with Fritz, pleaded to the crowd to stop but it wasn’t happening.
Bartoli then asked Fritz just one question, to which the American sarcastically replied – firing more shots at the French Open crowd.
“They cheered so well for me, I wanted to make sure I won. Thanks guys,” Fritz told Bartoli during his brief on-court interview.
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