Taylor Fritz’s first round at Wimbledon on June 30 was suspended by the officials 40 minutes before the curfew. This decision did not sit well with fans, and they lashed out at the authorities for their decision.
Fritz locked horns with Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round of Wimbledon, and the clash began with the latter dominating the first two sets of the match with a score of 7-6(8), 7-6(10). Following this, the American made an impressive comeback in the next two sets of the match, as he dominated the third and the fourth rounds with scores of 6-4, 7-6(8).
As the match went into the fifth round and Fritz was gaining momentum, Wimbledon officials suspended the play at 10:18 pm, as they believed it wouldn’t conclude before the curfew time of 11 p.m. He was visibly furious when the officials came to discuss the suspension of the match.
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The Tennis Letters shared this news with a picture of both players talking to the officials on X. Here is the post:
Along with fifth seed Taylor Fritz, his fans were also enraged because of this decision. Some expressed their dismay over the suspension of the play on X, stating that it was completely unfair. Calling it 'nonsense,' one of the users on X wrote:
"Total nonsense. Fritz should be pissed."
Following this, another tennis fan stated that with his ongoing pace, Fritz would have finished the match in under 40 minutes.
"After the way Perricard lost that TB, Fritz would’ve finished this in faster than 40 minutes. Horrible decision to stop play."
Vouching for Fritz, one of his fans said that it was a 'bad draw' to start with and posted on X:
"What a joke just screwed Fritz. The serve bot was worn down now he gets a full rest when they had 40 minutes to play. This was a bad draw to start with and now they don’t even give Fritz the chance to finish."
Calling it a 'dumb' rule, another user on X wrote:
"This is the dumbest rule ever."
Analyzing Fritz's game and his fitness during the match, one of the followers on X called it 'unfair.'
"Fritz superior fitness was becoming apparent, would have been favored to win….. now, coin flip! Completely unfair for players and fans."
Taylor Fritz opened up about why the match at Wimbledon was postponed despite his willingness to play
Day 1 of Wimbledon on June 30 witnessed chaos in the first-round clash between Taylor Fritz and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, as the highly anticipated match was paused after the fourth set, citing the curfew time.
Shortly after this, Fritz clarified the reason behind the match getting postponed in an Instagram comment. He shared that it would have continued if Perricard had agreed to the same.
"They would’ve let us play if my opponent agreed to, I said I wanted to he didn’t," Taylor Fritz commented.
The highly anticipated showdown between Taylor Fritz and Perricard will continue on Tuesday, July 1.
