Nick Kyrgios leads fans reacting to ‘cheeky’ Taylor Fritz comment picked up by court microphones after beating nemesis
TAYLOR FRITZ aimed a brutal barb at fierce rival Arthur Rinderknech after their Wimbledon second round clash on Court 12.
And Nick Kyrgios, 28, loved the incredible moment of aggro.
American star Fritz, 26, has history with Frenchman Rinderknech.
The pair met at Roland Garros last year, with Fritz winning in four sets.
Having received pelters from the French crowd on Court Suzanne Lenglen, Fritz contained his emotions – until the match was over.
He then ran around the court, gleefully shushing spectators as boos rained upon him.
Ahead of their Wimbledon rematch, Rinderknech, 28, stoked the fires.
He said prior to their latest meeting: “The atmosphere will be quieter and he won’t cry as much. He whined a bit saying it was too noisy.
“I hold no grudge against him but he was wrong if he thought the French crowd would send him kisses between points.”
After seeing Rinderknech’s comments, Fritz clearly felt extra motivation – dispatching him 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-4 to dump him out of the tournament.
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As they shook hands at the net, Fritz aimed a cheeky barb at his foe, telling him to “have a nice flight home”.
Rinderknech then tried to converse with his conqueror, who was having none of any attempts at a reconciliation.
Asked after the match if he’d felt extra motivation, Fritz admitted: “Yeah, normally I don’t, but it’s tough not to when someone goes out of their way to take a jab at you.
“It’s tough not to see it because everyone is just going to tag me and make sure I see it.
“As soon as I saw it, the match was basically over.”
‘I JUST SAID, HAVE A NICE FLIGHT HOME’
Further quizzed about the incident, Fritz went on: “It just gives me extra fire, obviously. I’m a very chill person.
“I don’t do anything that could rub people the wrong way, so when someone goes out of their way to take a shot at me, then I’m not just going to take it.”
On their exchange, he hilariously added: “It gave me the extra fire to win. When we shook hands, I just said, have a nice flight home.
“He asked me what I said. I told him what I said. He told me he was in doubles still. I said, Oh, congrats, good for you.
‘THAT’S NOT HOW IT WORKS’
“Then he started acting like, Why are you blah, blah, blah?
“I’m like, dude, you know what you said. You know what you said. Don’t disrespect me before the match and then expect me to be all nice after the match. That’s not how it works.”
Viewers, including Kyrgios, loved the spicy exchange.
The Aussie, 28, wrote on social media: “This is what the sport needs.”
He then tagged Fritz, adding: “Cheeky.”
Another fan posted: “I love petty Taylor… it doesn’t come out much but when it does, it’s hilarious lol.”
While a further social media user added: “Fritz was having NONE of the foolishness.”
Next up, former American No1 Fritz will take on 24th seed Alejandro Tabilo.
Should the former Indian Wells champion win, he will face either fourth seed Alexander Zverev or Britain’s Cameron Norrie in round four.
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