Taylor Fritz points to USA flag on his chest in celebration following comeback win over Jack Draper in Paris Olympics 2024 2R
America's Taylor Fritz defeated Great Britain's Jack Draper in the second round of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Fritz pointed to the USA flag on his chest in celebration after coming back from a set down to bag a win.
Fritz defeated Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-4 in the first round on Saturday, July 27. Meanwhile, Draper defeated the 2016 Olympics bronze medalist Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-1, 6-4 in the first round on Sunday, July 28.
Draper and Fritz faced off in the second round on Tuesday, July 30, at the Court Suzanne-Lenglen. The Brit got the upper hand in the match by winning the first set in a tiebreaker 7-6(3). However, Fritz did not lose his composure and battled in hot conditions to win the next two sets 6-3, 6-2 and advance into the third round.
Fritz, who fired 16 aces and saved all nine break points, pointed to the USA flag on his chest in celebration and posted the image on Instagram. The 26-year-old captioned the post:
"Different energy @olympics 🇺🇸👈🏻 Round 2 ✅"
The heat in Paris has soared to 35 degrees Celsius after it rained during the first few days of the event. Tennis authorities at the Paris Olympics have allowed players a 10-minute break between the second and third sets. Draper called the conditions 'brutal' and complained about not receiving cold water during the match.
“I said to the referee, ‘It’s pretty poor that the players have to drink hot water when we’re playing in those conditions,’” Draper explained after the match.
The Brit believes Fritz handled the heat much better than him and that helped him on his way to the win.
"I don’t know how hot it was but it definitely felt very, very difficult... I haven’t played in much hotter conditions than that. Your body starts to really fight against you. I definitely feel like he [Taylor Fritz] dealt with it better today."
Taylor Fritz will take on Lorenzo Musetti in the third round at Paris Olympics 2024
Taylor Fritz will face Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in the third round of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Wednesday, July 31. The Italian has been in fine form as he reached the Wimbledon semifinal and the final of the ATP 250 clay-court event in Umag.
Musetti defeated France's Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-4 in the first round before getting the better of Argentine Mariano Navone 7-6(2), 6-3.
This will be the fifth encounter between Fritz and Musetti with their head-to-head record tied at 2-2. Their last match was in the quarterfinals in Wimbledon which the Italian won 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.