“I hold no grudge against him…,” Arthur Rinderknech declared before facing Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon. But maybe that is not entirely true, as his statement conveyed a message of his buried fury against Fritz. However, the American decided to stay silent and give it back by defeating him on-court. Fans thought maybe that would draw an end to the story. But no, there’s more! Adding fuel to the fire, Nick Kyrgios has given his verdict on the subject, shedding light on a new angle to the incident!

“This is what the sport needs 👀👀👀👀✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ @Taylor_Fritz97 cheeky……,” wrote the “Bad Boy,” of tennis on his X account. Well, Nick Kyrgios seems to be impressed with the American tennis pro’s conversation with his opponent after the match. After all, the post that he shared on social media put forward a sassy moment between the duo on the ground. After the customary handshake following the match, the former World No. 5 went ahead and said to the French player, “Have a nice flight home.” 

While to some it might be just a usual statement, tennis fans know the underlying meaning of it! To understand the full context, let’s dive into what actually happened. It started during their last year’s French Open battle, where the 26-year-old managed to secure a massive win but failed to woo the audience, which constantly booed him.

While Rinderknech enjoyed it while playing on his home ground, Fritz’s frustration grew. Ultimately, he cried out in protest, “Come on! I wanna hear it.” Referring to that, Rinderknech warned Fritz before their Wimbledon match this season and said, “The atmosphere will be quieter and he won’t cry as much. He whined a bit, saying it was too noisy.”

Naturally, it rubbed Taylor Fritz in the wrong way and he took his revenge on the grass! Rivalry is a common thing in tennis, and it sometimes slips into a player’s personal life too. Kyrgios’ ugly rivalry against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic in the past is no secret to anyone. While some wanted to see more of those, others thought it was unnecessary drama.

But Kyrgios’ strange statement has garnered fans’ attention once again, with some protesting in the comments, saying, “It’s definitely entertaining, but I’m not sure if the sport needs it. The sport seems to be doing as well as ever.” And others, saying the opposite, “I like it too ! Nothing like a bit of rivalry.” And maybe Fritz agrees too, as, according to him, it added “fire” to his performance.

Taylor Fritz is “not just going to take it” when Rinderknech takes a shot at him

Taylor Fritz could hardly ignore his opponent’s comments before the match. But he decided to use it to his advantage, and ultimately did so as he finished the match with 6-3, 6-4 3-6, 6-4 score. After the victory, he confessed, “It just gives me extra fire, obviously. I’m a very chill person. I, like, don’t do anything that could rub people the wrong way, so when someone kind of just goes out of their way to take a shot at me, then I’m not just going to take it. It gave me the extra fire to win.”

Further adding to it, Fritz, who admitted that he is not a confrontational player, said how he reacted after seeing what his French opponent said about him. “As soon as I saw it, the match was basically over.”

However, Fritz’s clash against Arthur Rinderknech was only a single chapter of his Wimbledon story of this season. Now, he has another opponent to tackle, Alejandro Tabilo. And he has already made it clear, Taylor Fritz is not the one to step back from a fight before winning!