“It’s tough not to when someone kind of goes out of their way to take a jab at you,” Fritz later explained in press. “It’s tough not to see it, because everyone is just going to tag me (on social media) and make sure I see it. As soon as I saw it, the match was basically over…
“It just gives me extra fire, obviously. I’m a very chill person. I don’t do anything that could rub people the wrong way. When someone just goes out of their way to take a shot at me, then I’m not just going to take it. It gave me the extra fire to win.”
Fritz kept the fire burning through a spectacular 2024 season, reaching his first major final at the US Open and ending the season with a runner-up finish at the Nitto ATP Finals, earning a career-high ranking of No. 4.
No word on whether Rinderknech did, in fact, enjoy his flight home.
