Eurosport expert John McEnroe believes Taylor Fritz handled the hostile Parisian crowd ‘incredibly’ during his win over Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.
Fritz was subject to intense booing immediately after his four-set victory over the last Frenchman left in the draw during their second-round clash at the French Open on Thursday.
The American, in response, could be seeing putting his finger against in his lips in an attempt to hush the hostile crowd, something which McEnroe commended him for.
‘’I can relate to fans being against me, so respect for Taylor, I love that,” McEnroe told Eurosport.
“[A hostile crowd] can be extremely intimidating, but it also can be very inspiring. You can use that negative fuel to your advantage.
‘’I’ve got to hand it to Fritz, he’s done an incredible job getting himself in tip-top shape, he’s one of the best ball strikers that you’ll see on a tennis court, and he battles.
“He’s got some personality. I’ve been saying this for 50 years, but you play one-on-one against someone, you need that intensity.
“I think Taylor rose to the occasion. He’s a better player than Rinderknech in my opinion, I don’t think it’s a huge upset that he won that match.
‘’But I like to see a little confrontation, a la [Daniil] Medvedev a couple of years ago at the (US) Open.’’
McEnroe went on to talk about the importance of having self confidence as a top 10 player on the tour.
‘’If you know Fritz, you know he’s got a bit of that. He’s very confident, as he should be, and you need to be to be a top player. On the court you don’t see it as often, but off the court you feel that,” McEnroe continued.
“I’ve been with him a couple of years as Laver Cup captain and he’s like ‘I’ve got this, I know exactly what to do.’ He believes in himself, and you have to believe in yourself.
“This is what it’s all about – Americans coming to Paris or vice versa, you know the crowd is going to be against you and you’re pumped up for it.
“That’s exactly what Fritz did – I thought he handled it incredibly.’’
Fritz faces 23rd seed Francisco Cerundolo in the third round on Saturday.
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