Taylor Fritz was left with a bloody elbow after an incredible diving effort in a rally during his second-round Wimbledon clash with Gabriel Diallo on Wednesday night
Taylor Fritz’s gutsy dive during a thrilling rally against Gabriel Diallo on Wednesday night left him with a bloodied elbow, but earned high praise from John McEnroe. The BBC commentator and seven-time Grand Slam champ was thoroughly impressed by the American’s dedication in the second-round match at Centre Court, having expressed fears that “something serious” could happen after a Carlos Alcaraz incident.
Fritz has already had a dramatic tournament, being left livid his first round match was stopped early due to a local rule, then aiming an accusation as his opponent before returning to wrap up a five-set win. And he was left seething again when his latest match was suspended before going on to win.
Fritz, eager to level the score while ahead on break-point in the fourth set, dashed frantically from one side of the court to the other as Diallo looked poised to secure the point. In a last-ditch effort, Fritz launched into an all-out dive, miraculously returning the ball over the net.
Although the ball landed perfectly for Diallo, allowing the Canadian to easily take the point, McEnroe couldn’t help but admire Fritz’s valiant attempt from the commentary box.
“What a great effort!” exclaimed McEnroe. “What a beautiful effort! You’ve got to love that, that is really sweet. Every shot he made he was barely getting to it. That is so good to see.”
As Fritz’s girlfriend, Morgan Riddle, looked on with concern, Diallo offered a thumbs-up to check on Fritz, whose injury caused a brief halt in play as his elbow began to bleed, reports the Express.
McEnroe added: “Taylor, we love the effort. And man, with a little bit of luck he might have pulled that off.”
Fritz extended the delay by taking a medical timeout, leaving Diallo in suspense at break point. After a pause of several minutes, the match finally resumed and following an intense battle at deuce, Diallo managed to hold onto his service game, winning the fourth set and tying the match at 2-2.
Fritz had already faced a grueling five-set match against the powerful-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round, which spanned over two days due to the 11pm curfew, making his Wimbledon journey quite challenging.
However, there’s no denying that Fritz arrived at the All England Club as one of the top contenders. He started his grass-court season with a victory at the Boss Open, where he defeated Alexander Zverev in the final.
Despite his early exit at Queen’s, cut short by Corentin Moutet in the first round, Fritz rebounded with another win in Eastbourne, defeating Joao Fonseca, Marcos Giron, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Jenson Brooksby.