Taylor Fritz's girlfriend Morgan Riddle recreates Neo from the Matrix's look for ATP Finals, gives peek into what inspired the move
Taylor Fritz enthralled his fans by beginning his 2022 ATP Finals campaign on a victorious note against World No. 2 Rafael Nadal.
The 25-year-old, who took the place of the injured Carlos Alcaraz at the ongoing year-end event in Turin, overcame Nadal 7-6(3), 6-1 in the opening round-robin fixture on Sunday.
Fritz's girlfriend Morgan Riddle, who was also delighted following the win, gave social media users a peek into what inspired her Neo from the Matrix look in Turin.
The social media influencer recreated the look of the Matrix franchise protagonist by picking up a pair of goggles similar to the one worn by Keanu Reeves in the film.
Riddle, who has been involved in attempting to make tennis more popular, revealed via an Instagram story that she had a crush on the Matrix character as a young girl and the resurgence of the goggles worn by Neo in the movie prompted her to don a new look.
"When I was growing up, my best friend Sonia and I were obsessed with the Matrix. We would watch it (Matrix) once a week in my basement. We had printout photos of him. I keep seeing the resurgence of those goggles. I saw a pair in Turin today and I had to get them," said Riddle who then struck a pose with the goggles on and posted a collage of herself and Neo from the Matrix.
The professional model also posted an image of Fritz and the scoreline of his win against Nadal. The American has now managed to get the better of the 22-time Grand Slam champion for the second time this year after having triumphed in the finals of the Indian Wells Open.
"I'm super happy to just get the chance to play here" - Taylor Fritz after beating Rafael Nadal in Turin
Taylor Fritz, who is aiming to become the first American to win the year-end ATP Finals since Pete Sampras in 1999 revealed that he was "super happy" just to be part of the prestigious event.
Fritz lost to Simon Gilles in the second round of the Paris Masters, which might well have been his last tournament of the season. Carlos Alcaraz's withdrawal from the ATP Finals, however, meant that the World No. 9 had the chance to end the year on a high.
"It feels great. I'm super happy to just get the chance to play here," Taylor Fritz stated in the post-match press conference. "It's a much better way of ending my year than how I went out in Paris. It could have been the end of my year. Gives me a lot of confidence to come back, play a really good match, and beat someone like Rafa."
Taylor Fritz finds himself in the Green Group in the ATP Finals, which also includes Felix-Auger Aliassime and Casper Ruud, apart from Nadal.
After ending Nadal's 20-match winning streak to win the Indian Wells title, Fritz also reigned supreme at the Eastbourne International and the Japan Open.