Taylor Fritz is gearing up for the US Open Championships, arguably being the United States’ best hopes in the men’s singles event. The American superstar is known to play a punchy style of tennis, and that also seems to be his approach when it comes to communication. Fritz was recently seen in a US Open video in which he was asked about the thing that he hates or gets annoyed by the most on court. And his answer will remind you of a certain someone named Novak Djokovic.
It was a fun segment by the US Open, which was also conducted with the likes of Djokovic himself, Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur. Taylor Fritz was shown right at the end and his answer left one to wonder if there was a real plea in it somewhere to the Serbian.
Fritz slams players who take too long to serve
In the reel, though maybe exaggerating for effect, Taylor Fritz said that he gets annoyed when a player takes ’30-40 bounces’ to before completing one single serve. This is a fascinating point since it showcases a certain school of thought in the tennis fraternity which still believes that the authorities have not managed to make the game quicker with their shot clock rules since 2018, which give a player a maximum of 25 seconds between points. A player going beyond that limit is often given a first warning and on the second instance and after that, a time violation which could go on to different degrees of penalties.
When Taylor Fritz made that comment, many fans speculated that he was taking a shot at Novak Djokovic amongst active players on the ATP Tour. Djokovic is one of those players known to take his time till date before completing his serves and even before him, this has often been used by players as a psychological ploy against opponents, testing their patience. Because of that, their chances of making unforced errors increase.
However, some fans believe that Fritz is in no position to make such a statement, having never beaten Novak Djokovic in his career. More recently, he lost to him in the semifinals of the Cincinnati Masters, losing 6-0 in one of the sets. Apart from the 23-time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal is another legend of the game who has often attracted controversy due to the wait he generates while serving.
Taylor Fritz is not the first player to not be a fan of this practice. Nadal was directly criticized in the 2010s by the likes of Roger Federer and Canada’s Denis Shapovalov for the same, and umpires on occasion, have also given him warnings which have resulted in arguments.
In the same video, Novak Djokovic revealed that players grunting or making too much noise is extremely irritating. He was the only one with that answer. Carlos Alcaraz surprisingly said that it is a player employing the serve and volley tactic against him too much that is frustrating.
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Taylor Fritz ranking and net worth
As per the ATP Tour, the current Taylor Fritz ranking is 9. At the upcoming US Open, his draw seems extremely tricky. He is projected to face Stefanos Tsitsipas or his fellow countryman, Chris Eubanks in the Round of 16. Should he advance to the quarterfinals, he could be up against World No.2 Novak Djokovic or Canadian No.1 Felix Augur-Aliassime. His potential semi-final opponents are either Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul or 2022 finalist, Casper Ruud.
The current Taylor Fritz net worth figure stands at $5 million as per CA Knowledge. He has earned nearly $12.9 million in prize money in his career so far. Taylor Fritz currently resides in Miami with his girlfriend, Morgan Riddle who is 24 years old and is a social media influencer by profession.
