READ MORE:<\/strong> Shattered Kokkinakis forced to retire mid match<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Eels rookie 'embarrasses' Eels teammates<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Rinderknech made a reference to that earlier matchup during the lead up to Thursday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n "The atmosphere will be quieter (than at Roland-Garros) and he won't cry as much," he said.<\/p>\n Watch Wimbledon 2024 live and exclusively free on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. Plus centre court in 4K UHD on<\/strong><\/em> Stan Sport<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, the home of grand slam tennis.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n "He whined a bit saying it was too noisy.<\/p>\n "I hold no grudge against him, but he was wrong if he thought the French crowd would send him kisses in between points."<\/p>\n When Fritz heard it about it\ufeff, he was not pleased.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just gives me extra fire, obviously. I\u2019m a very chill person. I don\u2019t do anything that could rub people the wrong way, so when someone kind of just goes out of their way to take a shot at me, then I\u2019m not just going to take it,\u201d said Fritz. \u201cIt gave me the extra fire to win.\u201d<\/p>\n So when it was time for the post-match handshake at the All England Club, there were some words exchanged.<\/p>\n \u201cI just said, \u2018Have a nice flight home,\u2019\u201d Fritz recounted.<\/p>\n According to Fritz, Rinderknech responded by pointing out that he\u2019s still around in doubles.<\/p>\n \u201cI said, \u2018Oh, congrats. Good for you.\u2019 Then he started acting like, \u2018Why are you blah, blah, blah?\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018Dude, you know what you said. You know what you said.\u2019 Don\u2019t disrespect me before the match and then expect me to be all nice after the match,\u201d said Fritz, who will take on 24th-seeded Alejandro Tabilo of Chile on Saturday for a spot in the fourth round. \u201cThat\u2019s not how it works.\u201d<\/p>\n At Roland Garros last year, spectators booed and whistled at Fritz after he eliminated Rinderknech, who was the last French man in the field. Fritz put a finger to his lips, then spread his arms to egg on the crowd and yelled, \u201cCome on! I want to hear it!\u201d<\/p>\n After clinching the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, Fritz mocked the crowd when he raised a finger to his lips in a shushing motion.<\/p>\n He was barely able to conduct his on-court interview due to boos and jeers.<\/p>\n "I love you guys," Fritz said sarcastically.<\/p>\n "The crowd was just so great that I had to let it fire me up. They cheered so well for me, I wanted to make sure I won. Thanks."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
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