Quote of the Day: Taylor Fritz’s win over Zverev was “for the girls,” says Morgan Riddle

UPDATE: After deleting her posts on Instagram, Morgan Riddle shared the following statement:

Regarding my stories yesterday... I took them down as soon as I realized the misunderstanding and how blown out of proportion they had become by the media. They were not about anything that's happened off the tennis court (and) there's no bad blood between anyone.

Super proud of T for the match yesterday, thank you to the crowd for the support and looking forward to tomorrow.

At this point, we’re just here for the Taylor Fritz handshake at Wimbledon.

The American advanced to the quarterfinals at the grass-court major for only the second time in his career on Monday, after completing a riveting five-set comeback over No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev. And for the second time during The Championships, it was what happened after the match that set social media ablaze.

Fritz celebrated his 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-3 win on Centre Court with a huge roar. But when he walked up to give Zverev the usual post-match handshake, the German held him back for what ended up being a lengthy discussion.

Read More: Quote of the Day: Taylor Fritz tells Arthur Rinderknech to "have a nice flight home"

Zverev was taking issue with some members of Fritz’s player box who were a bit too vocal in their support of the No. 13 seed—especially toward the end of the match when it became clear that Zverev, who was playing with a bone bruise on his right knee, was hampered by injury.

“He said, nothing to do with you, you’re all good, whatever,” Fritz related to Tennis Channel’s Steve Weissman and Martina Navratilova afterward. “So whatever, it’s all good… I wasn’t wishing him a good flight home!”

After the match, Zverev also seemed keen to downplay the awkward moment, which was already grabbing attention on social media. He told reporters that while he found all the cheering to be “a bit over the top,” there was “no drama” between the two players.

Q: Can I ask you about the shot at the end at the net. You obviously respect each other. We're all curious what you were talking about.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV: …Me and Taylor, we grew up together, playing each other since juniors…

His team is extremely respectful. I think his coach (Michael Russell), his physio, his second coach, they're extremely respectful. I think there's some other people that maybe are in the box that are not maybe from the tennis world, that are not maybe from particularly watching every single match. They were a bit over the top.

That's okay. No issues. No drama. He fought back from two sets to love, so they're obviously all excited, very pumped up.

But no issues with Taylor. I think Taylor is a great guy. I have absolutely no issues with him.

WATCH: Taylor Fritz reveals what Zverev said at the net after their fourth-round clash at Wimbledon | Tennis Channel Live

Read More: Holding Court with... Michael Russell, coach of Taylor Fritz with an unbreakable poker face

When asked about Zverev’s comments, Fritz on the other hand took the classic American defense of pleading the Fifth. He repeatedly said that he “can’t hear” members of his player box, and didn’t notice anyone in particular being “extremely loud”.

Q: Zverev said his issue was with people in your box that ‘aren't from the tennis world.’ That you and your coach were respectful, so it would be someone else. What's your thoughts on that?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I think he was annoyed at some people in my box just being loud, cheering for me.

Honestly, I can't hear (them). I don't know. No big deal. He said it's nothing towards me or anything like that… I mean, I don't know. Like I said, I can't hear…

I don't really hear my box when I'm playing like that. I didn't hear anyone being extremely loud.

He's totally allowed to be annoyed if they were being annoying. Like, again, I don't know. That's one of the things I asked him at the net, Who was it?

But while the players cleared the air, fans on social media were quick to spot a few Instagram Story posts from the American’s influencer girlfriend Morgan Riddle that seemed to imply that maybe there was a bit more to it after all.

“Cheer loud ladies,” Riddle wrote along with a snap of the stands in question, as Center Court cameras captured her filming herself with a white vlogging camera celebrating the victory. In another now-deleted post, Riddle was also seen dancing to Chappell Roan and sipping a drink with a caption that read “when ur man wins 4 the girls.”

Read More: Alexander Zverev reaches the Roland Garros final on the day his court case is resolved in Germany

On social media, users took her comments to be a not-so veiled jab at Zverev, who has been accused by multiple women of domestic assault and abuse.

Ex-girlfriend Olya Sharypova first stepped forward with her account back in 2020, while last year Brenda Patea, the mother of Zverev’s child, brought her own criminal case against the player. The latter case was recently settled out of court in a Berlin trial that took place during his run to the 2024 Roland Garros final. Zverev has always strongly denied all accusations.

Up next No. 13 seed Fritz will face No. 25 seed Lorenzo Musetti on Wednesday for a place in the Wimbledon semifinals. For Fritz, it would also be his first semifinal at a Grand Slam.