Taylor Fritz’s girlfriend claims he beat Alexander Zverev “for the girls”, an obvious dig at abuse allegations

Taylor Fritz’s girlfriend claimed the American beat Alexander Zverev for “the girls”, apparently in reference to the earlier allegations of domestic violence against the German.

After completing their fourth-round match on Centre Court, Fritz and Zverev engaged in a lengthy exchange at the net, focusing on comments from the American’s box as he recovered from a two-set deficit to secure a place in the quarterfinals.

Morgan Riddle, a social media influencer and Fritz’s girlfriend, posted a photo from Centre Court earlier in the day with the caption “Cheer loudly ladies” before later dancing in the now-deleted video, which also featured prayers, painted nails and heart emojis, with the caption “When your man wins for the girls.”

Zverev’s domestic violence trial ended early last month without a decision being made on whether or not the German tennis player had attacked his ex-girlfriend. Model and social media star Brenda Patea had previously reached an out-of-court settlement with Zverev’s legal team and had not entered a guilty plea. Zverev denied all allegations against him.

Both players spoke about their conversation at the net during their respective press conferences, with Zverev stating that he had heard comments from Fritz’s box but not those of his coaches.

“His team is extremely respectful. I think his coach, his physiotherapist and also his second coach are extremely respectful. I think there are a few other people in the box who maybe aren’t from the tennis world and maybe don’t watch every single match. They were a bit over the top,” Zverev explained.

“That’s OK. No problems. No drama. He fought back from two sets to zero, so of course they’re all excited, very pumped up, yes. But no problems with Taylor. I think Taylor is a great guy. I have absolutely no problems with him.”

Fritz, who reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the second time, explained his side of the story, adding that he had not heard any comments from his box while on court.

“At the net, it’s not a big deal. I think he felt like he was limping around a little bit at times, at least towards the end of the fifth round. I think he was annoyed because some people in my box were just being loud and cheering me on.”

Zverev added that he was playing “on one leg” today and noted that he expected Fritz to reach the semifinals, where he would face Italian Lorenzo Musetti.

“I expect him to win in the quarterfinals,” Zverev said. “But I also know that the match was not at a high level. I mean, it was not a particularly good tennis match. There were no really long rallies because I couldn’t play long rallies. Again, it all came from me. I just couldn’t do it.”

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