"Someone flat-out screaming to purposely throw you off is an absolute shock" - Taylor Fritz bemoans crowd interference during ATP Finals defeat to Novak Djokovic
Taylor Fritz bowed out of the ATP Finals on Saturday following a 7-6(5), 7-6(6) defeat to Novak Djokovic. However, the American was more upset by crowd interference, which took place in crucial moments in his match, than the defeat itself.
One of those moments occurred when Fritz was serving for the second set at 5-4, 30-30. The American lost focus for a brief moment and that was enough for his backhand to clip the net instead of going down for a clear winner.
Upon being quizzed on the incident in question during his post-match press conference, Fritz bemoaned the crowd interference but lamented that there is not much one can do about the problem.
"It one of those things. It's like what can you do? If you make a rule that you can replay a point, then the guy is just going to yell when I'm about to win a point, then we're going to have to replay. It's just going to happen the reverse way," Taylor Fritz said.
He stated that replaying the point was not a suitable solution to the issue.
"I can't expect anybody to be like, replay the point. In that situation, I can't say that I would do that either. I can't expect anyone to do anything differently," he added.
The American was visibly upset by the incident and was almost lost for words when addressing the issue.
"I don't know. I don't know what to say. I think that's what makes it even more frustrating. It's like, you know, I kind of got screwed and there's nothing that really can be done about it," he stated.
While players condition themselves to expect crowd noises even though they spend all their lives practicing in silence, Fritz explained that deliberate crowd interference during a point is something no player will be used to.
"You get used to playing in absolute silence your whole career. It's normal that the crowd maybe makes a noise when there's a crazy point going on. You expect it, you're ready for it. But someone just, like, flat-out screaming to purposely try to throw you off, it's not something you're ever used to. When it happens, it's an absolute shock. It's disgusting then," Taylor Fritz expressed.
"I'm extremely upset about the match" - Taylor Fritz
Asked to provide an assessment of his ATP Finals campaign during his press conference, Taylor Fritz began by laying bare his annoyance towards the crowd interference which took place during his match against Novak Djokovic.
"Yeah, I mean, now is probably not the best time for me to give a good answer for the reflection of the week because I'm extremely upset about the match, more so about the things that happen in a match that I can't control," Fritz said.
That said, the American believes he had a good tournament, given that he made it to the last four after scoring wins over Rafael Nadal and Felix Auger-Aliassime. The 25-year-old did not qualify for the tournament, and only got a chance to play. in it as the first alternate after an injury forced Carlos Alcaraz to pull out of the event.
"But I'm sure in two weeks from now I'll look back and I'll say, yeah, like it was a really great week. Not only did I get the chance to play the World Tour Finals, I made it out of the group, had two good wins," he said.