Taylor Fritz’s girlfriend Morgan Riddle, couldn’t contain her excitement as her boyfriend started his Madrid Open campaign in stellar fashion. The influencer took to Instagram to celebrate Fritz’s highlight-reel backhand smash that sent fans into a frenzy during his second-round match.
Taylor Fritz is currently participating in his fifth Madrid Open campaign, where he is seeded third. The American tennis star received a bye into the second round, where he registered a comprehensive 6-1, 6-4 win over Christopher O’Connell. The highlight of the match came when Fritz delivered a stunning backhand shot during the early second set. Riddle shared a clip of the shot on her Instagram Stories, captioning it:
“Claylor [clay+Taylor] season 2.”
Taylor Fritz Has Been Struggling With an Abdominal Injury Since February
The victory propelled Fritz to the third round, where he will take on Benjamin Bonzi on Apr. 26 in what will be the first meeting between the two on the ATP Tour. The winner of this match will face either the 23rd seed, Sebastian Korda, or the 14th seed, Casper Ruud, in the Round of 16 of the tournament.
World No. 4 Fritz has been battling an abdominal issue since early February, preventing him from competing at his best. After his quarterfinal loss at the Delray Beach Open, the American took a three-week break, returning in better form at Indian Wells.
There, he was eliminated in the fourth round by eventual champion Jack Draper. He followed that up with a semifinal run in Miami before the injury flared up once more, forcing him to withdraw from the Monte Carlo Masters. The 27-year-old recently landed in Madrid, where he reached the semifinals last year before losing to eventual champion Andrey Rublev.
Taylor Fritz’s Girlfriend Morgan Riddle Open About His Injury and Monte Carlo Withdrawal
In a video posted on Morgan Riddle’s YouTube channel, she discussed Fritz’s withdrawal from the Monte Carlo Masters due to a lingering injury and noted how unpredictable the tennis lifestyle can be.
“My boyfriend Taylor, has been dealing with this kind of ongoing lingering injury for about the last two months. So he had to pull out of the Monte Carlo tournament,” Riddle shared in the vlog (at 00:35).
“Obviously looking for the return of Claylor, and that’s something that’s really tough about this lifestyle, is like you never know what can happen, and things just change last minute.”
