It is Fritz who will face the Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo (23rd) for a place in the round of 16. Quarter-finals at Wimbledon last year, which remains his best Grand Slam result to date, Fritz had never passed the third round on Parisian soil. And the least we can say is that he played on hostile ground this Thursday evening.
The outsider Rinderknech was very loudly supported from the entrance by the public of the Suzanne-Lenglen court. A real atmosphere of Davis Cup, old version. Several Marseillaises were sung and the public throughout the match often sought to destabilize Fritz, despite the referee’s regular admonitions. Visibly disturbed, the 8th in the world missed his start to the match before regaining his efficiency on the serve to enforce his rank. “I don’t know if we slipped him sweet words at the edge of the stands. Me in any case it was the case, slipped the Frenchman. That pleased me. I had 3 or 4 times big atmospheres in Australia against Australians. It was nice to have one at home. It makes me want to keep working, to be better to live these experiences against very great players and beat them.
Once the match point had been won, Fritz made a long sign to the public to be quiet with his finger on his mouth… Obviously, it was quite the opposite that happened. And the boos doubled. The American hit the nail on the head with this ironic outing. “The public was so brilliant, they encouraged me so much that I absolutely wanted to win”. Mission accomplished.