Taylor Fritz was involved in controversy recently after his match with Joao Fonseca at the Eastbourne International.
Kicking off his Eastbourne campaign last month, Fritz came face to face with Fonseca, playing the young Brazilian for the first time.
In a match played over two days, Fritz defeated Fonseca 6-3, 6-7, 7-5, booking his place in the quarterfinals.
After the match, the American caused quite the stir with his comments on Instagram, reacting to the highlights of his win over Fonseca.
Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images for LTA
“Commenting this before watching points. Betting this is 80 per cent [Joao] Fonseca highlights, maybe one/two points of me winning,” he said in a now deleted post.
“Update: I was right.”
A number of Brazilian fans took offense to Fritz’s post, as he deleted it shortly after, pleading with them to ‘just chill’.
Asked about the controversy following his third-round win at Wimbledon, the world number five had plenty to say.
Taylor Fritz says he had Brazilian fans calling him a ‘cry baby’ for a month after Joao Fonseca controversy
During his post-match press conference, Fritz shared his thoughts on the ‘highlight controversy’.
“I want to get my thoughts out, because I’ve thought about this a lot,” he said.
“There are naturally going to be more highlights of players that drive more engagement, and that’s normal, that’s fine.
“I was, when I said that, it was clearly a joke, people thought I was complaining, I’ve had Brazilians telling me I’m a cry baby for the last month, since I said it basically.
“Trust me, I don’t care about the highlights, it was a joke.”
Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images
The American proceeded to explain why the highlights often focus on the ATP Tour’s biggest names.
“I think, whether it’s ATP, Tennis TV, it’s in the media companies’ interest to be posting the people who are going to drive the most engagement, that makes sense, that’s what they’re supposed to do,” said Fritz.
“So yes, [Joao] Fonseca has a ton of fans and a ton of followers, and there are other players like that too that are going to be posted more than the other players, but that’s not something that we should be complaining about, because, like I said, that’s the business, they’re trying to drive engagement, it is what it is.”
Fritz recalled a practice set he played against Carlos Alcaraz at the ATP Finals, where the highlights favored the Spanish star.
“It’s happened so many times, I’ve practised with Carlos [Alcaraz] or Jannik [Sinner] or play a match and I look at the highlights… I think I won a practice set against Carlos at the tour finals, and there were like five Carlos highlights and one of mine,” he said.
“I was like, I won this set, it looked like I was getting destroyed in the video.
“It’s funny, but like I said, I don’t care, and it makes sense promoting the more popular players.”
The popularity of Fonseca in particular continues to grow, as the Brazilian youngster makes his presence felt on the ATP Tour.
Taylor Fritz describes Joao Fonseca as an ‘incredible player’
Moving on from the controversy, Fritz was keen to praise the 18-year-old, who may break into the world’s top 50 after Wimbledon.
“I thought he was a really good player. I knew he was a really good player. I watched him play in Australia,” he said.
“I think he’s an incredible player for 18 years old.”
Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Fritz then looked back on his clash with Fonseca at Eastbourne, where he outlasted the Brazilian in three tight sets.
“It was probably the best match I had in Eastbourne, to be fair, it was windy all week. The first two sets we played were the only two sets I played all week, with no wind, good conditions,” he said.
“I thought the level was really good. He fought off a break chance in the second, played a very good breaker to win the second on me. I wish we could actually have finished the match that night.
“It was a really fun, enjoyable match. It was a good level from both of us, but it was too dark, so both of us agreed to come back the next day.
“When we came back the next day, it was just a windy mess like the rest of the week, so I can’t tell you too much about that.”
Only time will tell who will emerge victorious when the pair meet next on the ATP Tour, but you certainly won’t want to miss it.