American tennis star Taylor Fritz won a tough four-set match, 2–6 6–4 6–3 6–4, during the second round of the French Open on Thursday, but he was met with a chorus of boos from the crowd.
This was because Fritz, the No. 9 seed in the major tournament, took out France’s last hope of winning the men’s title, since he beat Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.
There are now no French men remaining in the draw, so the home crowd let Fritz hear it throughout the match.
Right after match point, Fritz immediately went to silence the crowd, which only further egged on the boisterous boos.
TAYLOR SAYS: 🤫@Taylor_Fritz97 takes out home favourite Arthur Rinderknech 2-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 to reach the third round in Paris!#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/Iqe9Vl0zSa
— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 1, 2023
The 25-year-old continued to shush the fans at Roland Garros as he walked across the clay court, sparking more boos before He started blowing kisses to the crowd. As the announcer said in the video above, “the French might not forget that.”
The boos didn’t stop even as Fritz was trying to be interviewed after the win. It took nearly a full minute to get the crowd to quiet down.
"I love you guys" 😂
— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 1, 2023
The French crowd 'loves' @Taylor_Fritz97 🤣🤫#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/UU1wj7qVs3
The shushing continued to Twitter after Fritz left the arena, as he tweeted just one simple emoji.
🤫
— Taylor Fritz (@Taylor_Fritz97) June 1, 2023
It looks like Fritz has decided to take on the villain role at Roland Garros.
