After finding himself in the middle of a social media storm over a tongue-in-cheek comment about rising Brazilian star Joao Fonseca, Taylor Fritz let his racquet do the talking.
His stunning tweener winner against compatriot Marcos Giron earned him Tennis TV’s ‘Shot of the Week!’ honor, prompting a couple of witty replies from the World No. 5.
Taylor Fritz Silences Critics With Show-Stopping Shot
Just hours after the dustup involving his comments regarding his match against Joao Fonseca, Fritz was back on court for his QF clash with fellow American Giron. Despite some shaky moments, he battled to a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 win to set up a semifinal against Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
But the highlight of the day came at the end of the final set. Locked at 3-all in the decider with the score at 15-0, Giron drew Fritz to the net with a soft touch. Fritz responded with a quick volley, but Giron lobbed the ball deep to the baseline.
In a quick recovery, Fritz sprinted back and unleashed a perfectly timed tweener that flew past Giron for a clean winner. The crowd at Devonshire Park erupted in applause as Fritz walked away with the point.
Tennis TV posted the jaw-dropping clip on its official Instagram account and awarded Fritz the “Shot of the Week.”
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Fritz couldn’t resist joining in on the fun. “Guys I did a highlight,” he commented, playfully referencing the earlier controversy. In another comment, he added, “Mom, get the camera.”
He arrived at Eastbourne to defend his ATP 250 title on the British south coast after a mixed grass-court campaign.
Fritz Drew Some Heat From Fans After Controversial Comments Involving Joao Fonseca
At Eastbourne, Fritz received a first-round bye before battling through a second-round duel with Brazilian teen Fonseca that stretched over two days due to darkness before eventually ending 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-5 in favour of the American the next day.
Following the match, Fritz, via Instagram, made a cheeky prediction that most of the match highlights would be “80% Fonseca highlights, maybe 1/2 points of me winning.”
He then followed it up with: “Update, I was right,” Fritz wrote in a since-deleted comment.
Fans didn’t take the remark too kindly, interpreting it as petty or jealous. But Fritz quickly defended himself, clarifying that the comment was meant as a joke.
“It’s crazy how people have 0 sense of humor and take everything so seriously,” he wrote. “It was meant to be funny like pls chill.”
It’s crazy how people have 0 sense of humor and take everything so seriously, it was meant to be funny like pls chill
— Taylor Fritz (@Taylor_Fritz97) June 26, 2025
The top seed had picked up steam earlier this month with a triumph at the BOSS Open in Stuttgart, but stumbled in the first round of Queen’s Club against France’s Corentin Moutet.
Fritz will meet Davidovich Fokina for the fifth time on the WTA Tour, with the latter holding a 3-1 lead in their head-to-head record. Fritz’s only victory came in the 2022 Paris Masters first round, winning 7-5, 6-2.
The winner of this match will take on either fourth seed Ugo Humbert or lucky loser Jenson Brooksby in the finals.
