Taylor Fritz lost his Round of 16 encounter against Casper Ruud at the French Open 2024. Arguably, he was the United States’ best chance to win a Grand Slam on clay this year. But even as he underperformed as per the expectations of many, Fritz received some positive words from his partner, Morgan Riddle.
What was even more disappointing for Fritz was that he was hyping himself up publicly throughout the 2024 clay swing to bring home the French Open title, but it didn’t work. He was calling himself ‘Claylor’ in his recent social media posts and many fans took a liking to it.
But Fritz did not give up without a fight in the Round of 16, losing to two-time finalist and clay specialist, Casper Ruud, in a four-set match. This made Riddle post a picture of Fritz from this year’s tournament and expressed her admiration and adulation for her boyfriend. After his loss, Riddle took to her Instagram story and posted a heartfelt message for her boyfriend.
She wrote, “Proud of my lil clay bot.”
Taylor Fritz has the right partner in Morgan Riddle indeed! pic.twitter.com/PRnILJ7mH3
— Wide World of Tennis (@tennisfan_dkr) June 6, 2024
This sweet gesture shows that the couple are going very strong. Riddle is indeed a big part of Fritz’s life and since he started dating her in 2022, the American No.1 men’s player has gone from strength to strength on the tennis court.
Interestingly, Riddle still called Fritz ‘clay bot’ because of his passion for the surface, and she believes that he can excel on it in the future. This season itself Fritz became the first American men’s singles player in history to reach the quarterfinals of all the ATP Masters tournaments played on clay – Monte-Carlo Masters, Madrid Open, and Italian Open.
With such a showing in the clay swing, Fritz performed much better on the surface than his compatriots such as Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, and Sebastian Korda. Fritz had two impressive wins in the French Open 2024, so he would take immense confidence from his ever-improving game and the fight he put up.
French Open 2024 Could Be the Turning Point for Taylor Fritz
In the Round of 16, Taylor Fritz was still the only American men’s singles player to make it that far into the tournament. Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, and Sebastian Korda were knocked out in the Round of 32 itself, whereas Frances Tiafoe failed to make it past the Round of 64.
Fritz had started off the tournament with a slight hiccup but managed to beat Argentina’s Federico Coria, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-1. After that, the American star beat Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round.
Many consider Lajovic one of the future stars of the sport as he has trained extensively with the likes of Novak Djokovic. Alongside Coria, Lajovic too is known more for his clay court abilities.
Fritz had to work harder though to defeat Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis in the Round of 32, winning a marathon five-setter, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 5-7, 6-3. But this would go down as one of the most memorable matches an American men’s player has played in recent years at the French Open.
Fritz can use this experience of his to come out all guns blazing at the Olympics 2024 after the Wimbledon Championships. He will be the leader of the American men’s national tennis team at the multi-sport event and has a great opportunity to have an incredible second half of the 2024 season.
