"Melbourne went back into lockdown at midnight" - Taylor Fritz's girlfriend Morgan Riddle on loss to Novak Djokovic mid-COVID at Australian Open
Taylor Fritz's girlfriend Morgan Riddle recently recalled his loss to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open amid the COVID-19 lockdown in the year 2021.
Djokovic played against Fritz in the third round at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. He quickly took a two sets to love lead, but Fritz fought back strongly in the third and fourth sets to tie the score and swing the momentum in his favor.
The encounter was brought to a standstill at 23:30 (local time) for evacuating the stands in order to comply with COVID-19 guidelines. The fifth set resumed some time later, with only team members of the respective players and tournament officials inside the stadium.
After the break, the Serb came out all guns blazing and finished the final set quickly to secure a 7-6 (1), 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 victory and advance. This was his third straight victory over Fritz.
Djokovic went on to win the tournament and lift the trophy Down Under for a record ninth time.
Taylor Fritz recently set foot in Melbourne with his girlfriend Morgan Riddle for the 2024 Australian Open. Riddle was hit with nostalgia after watching her boyfriend practice at Rod Laver Arena, and she took to Instagram to look back at his loss to Djokovic in 2021.
"Tbt to 2021 when Taylor played Novak in this arena but then Melbourne went back into lockdown at midnight. So mid-match just before the 5th set, they evacuated the entire stadium except for team members in the box so it went from the loudest most insane atmosphere to crickets and then Taylor lost. Nice," Riddle wrote.
Taylor Fritz is yet to beat Novak Djokovic
Taylor Fritz has locked horns with Novak Djokovic eight times so far but has yet to score a victory. Unfortunately for the American, he has lost seven out of those eight battles in straight sets. The only time he avoided a straight-set loss was in the third round of the 2021 Australian Open.
Fritz met the Serb for the first time in 2019, at the Monte Carlo Masters, and lost 3-6, 0-6. He faced the 24-time Grand Slam champion a few months later at the Madrid Open and met a similar fate.
The duo most recently squared off in the 2023 US Open quarterfinals. Djokovic registered his eighth victory over the American en route to his fourth title-winning finish at Flushing Meadows.