World No.5 Taylor Fritz nearly ended up having to play for four consecutive days at Wimbledon after his second-round match against Gabriel Diallo went into a fifth set
Taylor Fritz has admitted he would have gone ballistic at the umpire if his second-round match against Gabriel Diallo ran into a second day at Wimbledon. The world No.5 beat Diallo 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(0), 4-6, 6-3 in three hours and six minutes in another five-set epic.
Fritz needed five sets to see off the big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in a first-round match that left him fuming at Wimbledon’s rules. The American was forced to finish his match on Tuesday morning, after the umpire decided to call it a night, despite Fritz being sure there was enough time to squeeze the conclusion in before the 11pm curfew.
He was forced to play for a third consecutive day on Wednesday when he began his match against Diallo – and he was close to going into a fourth. Fritz had just taken a 2-1 set lead when play was suspended so the roof on Court One could be closed.
That decision, which allows matches to go on even when the natural light has faded, risked lighting the fuse on Fritz’s temper. Thankfully for him – and Wimbledon officials – he got it done on Wednesday night, without needing to return on Thursday morning.
Speaking in a press conference at close to midnight, Fritz said: “I would have lost my mind if they tried to get us [off] at, like, 9:50. There was plenty of time. I would have absolutely lost it because then I would have had to play again and then again. I need a day off at some point.”
Fritz is now enjoying a much-needed rest day ahead of his third-round match, when he may hope to be scheduled earlier in the day, in order to avoid falling foul of the curfew.
Speaking after his match against Perricard was suspended, he said: “I felt very confident if we kept playing, I felt good about it. Yeah, I do think the conditions… He was playing great and anything could have happened last night. It was more just like I felt like we had the time to play. I was mentally in the head space of, like, we are finishing this match tonight.
“They told us before the match, Hey, are you good to play till 11? We’re going to stop at 11. When I’m looking at the clock at the end of the fourth set, I’m thinking, Oh, it’s 10, there’s no way they’re going to stop us. We’re for sure playing this fifth set. The idea of stopping wasn’t even in my mind. I was fully tunnel-visioned on this match is finishing tonight.
“What happened was I get it. We both have to agree. If we don’t, then the referee makes a decision. What I didn’t understand, the referee, after he said what his decision was, he kept asking me. I think he just wanted me to, like, agree with him.
“I said, I don’t know why you keep asking me because I want to play. Stop asking me because you already said we’re not playing. I didn’t get that.