WATCH: Taylor Fritz left infuriated after interruption from crowd costs him at crucial stage in ATP Finals SF
Taylor Fritz was left unpleasantly surprised and infuriated after an interruption cost him dearly during his ATP Finals semi-final against Novak Djokovic on Saturday. Fritz looked in command during one of the most crucial points of the match when a fan shouted out, interrupting the American player's concentration and costing him the point.
Fritz was serving for the second set at 5-4, 30-30, after being in control throughout the set. Just as he got in position to hit a backhand into the open side of the court to set up a set point with a winner up the line, a fan shouted quite loudly. Fritz hit the backhand into the net, thus giving Djokovic a break point instead. The American No. 1 was furious after the point and let the crowd know of his annoyance.
This was tough 😳
There was drama as Taylor Fritz looked to serve out the second set against Djokovic...
#NittoATPFinals https://t.co/6HFMJdQFBe
Djokovic ended up breaking Fritz's serve on the next point as a backhand went long from the American player, who was still infuriated. Five-time ATP Finals winner Djokovic then went on to win the second set in a tie-break, thus sealing the match 7-6(5), 7-6(6).
Taylor Fritz made the semifinals on his debut at the season-ending championships, capping off his career-best season. Speaking after the match, the 25-year-old expressed his anger regarding the 'uncontrollable' incident.
"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 happened in a match that I can't control," Fritz said in his post-match press conference.
"It's an absolute shock, it's disgusting" - Taylor Fritz on the interruption from the crowd
Taylor Fritz further lamented the incident, calling such unnecessary interruptions from people "disgusting." While players are expected to stay focused despite such unforeseen interruptions, Fritz suggested that it comes as a shock each time, leaving players helpless.
"Someone just like flat-out screaming to like purposely try and throw you off - it's not something you're ever used to. So when it happens, it's an absolute shock. It's disgusting man," Fritz said.
He also feels that there is no way around such incidents and that the rules cannot be changed to facilitate replaying the point when such interruptions occur. He said that he cannot expect his opponents to allow the point to be replayed as he would probably not do the same if the situation was reversed, given the fact that these interruptions come out of nowhere.
"What can you do? If you make a rule that you can replay the point, then the guy's just going to yell when I'm about to win a point, and then we're going to have to replay and it'll happen the reverse way. I can't expect anybody to be like, 'replay the point,' because in that situation I can't say that I would do that either. I kinda got screwed and there's nothing that can really be done about it," Fritz added.