"Baiting to rag on Carlos Alcaraz but he's respectful instead" - Taylor Fritz defending No. 1's grunting after Djokovic hindrance divides tennis fans

Taylor Fritz recently defended Carlos Alcaraz
Taylor Fritz recently defended Carlos Alcaraz's grunting

Several tennis fans have reacted to Taylor Fritz siding with Carlos Alcaraz over the Spaniard's on-court grunting. Fritz's comments came after Novak Djokovic was slapped with a point penalty for hindrance at Wimbledon.

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The men’s semifinal matches of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships took place on Friday. Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, the top two seeds at the tournament, emerged victorious in straight sets against Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner, respectively.

The encounter between Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, however, saw the Serb slapped with a hindrance penalty point due to an extended grunt he let out after hitting a backhand while the ball was still in play.

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Several tennis fans agreed with the chair umpire's decision since the 23-time Slam winner’s grunt was seemingly delayed. However, a few argued that Novak Djokovic was unnecessarily targeted while players such as Carlos Alcaraz were excused despite grunting throughout their matches.

Taylor Fritz shared his opinion on the incident too. The American stated that while he did not watch Djokovic's incident and that he doesn’t generally expect the Serb to engage in such behavior, many players on tour are known to cause hindrance with their extended and delayed grunts.

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Fritz did not name those players but argued that giving a point penalty on such occasions was necessary.

“I can’t speak to this specific instance because i didn’t see it. Novak doesn’t come to my mind when I think of this rule, BUT some players I can think of extend/delay grunts A LOT on big points to put you off and it needs to be called more by umpires,” Taylor Fritz tweeted.
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Fritz later denied that the person he was referring to was Carlos Alcaraz, who is widely known for his audible grunting. He defended the young Spaniard and opined that his grunts are acceptable since they are consistent and not out of the blue.

Taylor Fritz also pointed out that Carlos Alcaraz only lets out an extended grunt when he is certain that he has hit a winner.

“Nah his is consistent and if he ever extends it it’s when he blasts a winner so doesn’t matter,” Taylor Fritz said about Carlos Alcaraz.
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Some tennis fans praised the American for siding with Alcaraz and agreed with his take.

“Time to become a Fritz fan? Maybe so,” one fan said.
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Several other fans, however, were unconvinced with Taylor Fritz’s justification and maintained that Alcaraz’s grunts shouldn’t be accepted.

“So if it’s consistent it’s ok to make excessive noise all the time?” one fan wondered.
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Here are a few more reactions from fans:

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Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz set up Wimbledon 2023 final clash

The pair at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships
The pair at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are through to the final of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. This is Alcaraz's first appearance in the final at SW19, while Djokovic is the four-time defending champion. Djokovic, in fact, is vying for an eighth title at the event and a 24th Grand Slam overall.

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The summit clash will mark the duo’s third clash on tour. Their first meeting was in the semifinals of the 2022 Madrid Open, where the Spaniard emerged victorious and eventually won the title.

Their second and most recent meeting was in the semifinals of the 2023 French Open. The match concluded in eventual champion Djokovic’s favor following Alcaraz’s diminished intensity due to cramping.

The Wimbledon final will take place on Sunday at approximately 2 pm local time.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar
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