"How fun, one of the best zoos in the world names this baby after Taylor Fritz!" - Pam Shriver reacts to Cincinnati zoo naming a baby hippo 'Fritz'

When the Cincinnati Zoo named a young hippo "Fritz," former tennis pro Pam Shriver responded by bringing up Taylor Fritz and joking that the hippo was named after him.

After receiving tens of thousands of votes from his devoted followers online, the Cincinnati Zoo named its newest baby hippopotamus Fritz.

The Zoo received more than 90,000 name proposals from every state in the USA, but after reducing the field to Fritz and Ferguson, Fritz prevailed with 56% of the vote. The young hippo also has a sister named Fiona who resides in the same zoo and is six weeks older than him.

Pam Shriver, a former professional tennis player turned pundit, responded to this on Twitter. She welcomed the baby hippo and joked that it was named after tennis player Taylor Fritz while tagging the American and the Cincinnati Open.

"Welcome, Fritz! Cincinnati Zoo picks name for baby hippo. How fun the week of ⁦@CincyTennis⁩ one of the best zoos in the world names this baby after ⁦@Taylor_Fritz97⁩," Pam Shriver wrote.

With a good performance in the grass-court season, Taylor Fritz improved on what was already the best year of his career. The American reached the quarterfinals of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, but eventually lost to Rafael Nadal 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(4).

At the Citi Open, Fritz was forced to retire from his fourth-round match due to illness.

The Canadian Open was another failure for him; he was defeated by Dan Evans, 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-5, in the Round of 16. However, he has made a comeback at the ongoing Cincinnati Masters by defeating Sebastian Baez of Argentina in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.

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Taylor Fritz's girlfriend receives a racquet from Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka at the Western & Southern Open - Day 4

Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka gifted a racquet to Fritz's girlfriend Morgan Riddle. Riddle took to Instagram to post a photo of the brand-new Yonex racquet. She captioned the story with:

"Think it’s time I learn how to play tennis now."

The gift was accompanied by a note from Osaka outlining some of the unique features her latest racquet.

"I am so excited to share my newest Yonex tennis racquet with you! This one is super special to me since my sister designed it herself. It has so much meaning - Dragons for power, good luck, and strength; Spider Lilies for strength and beauty; Purple/Gold for power and ambition," the note read.