'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
American tennis sensation Taylor Fritz recently revealed the harassment tennis players receive from betting in light of the gambling bans imposed on Mardy Fish and Bob Bryan.
US Davis Cup team coaches Mardy Fish and Bob Bryan were fined $10,000 and banned for four months after promoting a gambling operator on social media. They were handed four-month suspensions. It will only be imposed if Fish or Bryan commit another violation during the probationary period that began on Nov. 11.
Taylor Fritz was asked to offer his perspective on the subject during an interview with CLAY. The American said what happened to Fish and Bryan was unfortunate.
He added that tennis players are harassed as a result of betting, with 50 to 100 death threats and other unpleasant messages sent to them if they lose a match.
"They just advertised a sports bet company. I know for a fact they didn’t specifically said ‘bet on tennis’ or something like that. That’s against the rules, I get that. I just think everybody in tennis is making a profit off of betting, except for the players," Fritz said.
"We get all the harassment from betting. We get 50 to100 death threats after every match you lose. Awful messages, all the hate and all of the negative side of gambling, but we don’t get any of the positives. It’s unfair to us," Fritz added.
The American acknowledged the need for a change in the rules with changing times.
"By no mean tennis players should tell people to bet on tennis, but I don’t think it should be a problem when is something outside of tennis. What happened to Bob and Marty is unfortunate. Times are changing and the rules probably needs to change again," he added.
"I stand by the team’s decision; If we brought him, I can’t say the result would be any different" - Taylor Fritz on Rajeev Ram's exclusion from the US Davis Cup team
The US team appeared to be highly balanced in the 2022 Davis Cup. Hence, it was surprising to learn that Rajeev Ram was not included in the line-up. He is the World No. 3 doubles player and a US Olympic mixed doubles silver medallist with Venus Williams.
Even the 38-year-old wasn't hesitant in expressing his displeasure at being excluded.
Team USA was eventually defeated in the quarterfinals by Team Italy. While Taylor Fritz won for the Americans, Frances Tiafoe and doubles pair Tommy Paul and Jack Sock failed to win their respective matches.
Reflecting on this matter, Taylor Fritz stated that he stood by the team's decision not to include the Rams in the doubles team. He believed that on the tournament's extremely slow court, Jack Sock and Tommy Paul were the best options.
"I think that for Davis Cup we brought our best team. Could Rajeev been in that extra spot, because we had an extra spot, like sure, we know he can be there, but that applies pressure to play in if he is there, and I genuinely think that on that extremely slow court, Tommy (Paul) and Jack (Sock) was our best option," Taylor Fritz said.
"They didn’t play great, I think there was a lot of pressure on them because of the fact that whatever everyone was going to say about how we should have brought Rajeev if they lose. But it’s very easy in hindsight after defeat to go back and say 'oh we should have done this and that," Fritz added.
Taylor Fritz opined that the result would have been the same had Rajeev played.
"Australia took out one of their doubles players to put on a single player on a very big doubles match, and they won it. I stand by the team’s decision. If we brought Rajeev, I can’t say the result would be any different, to be honest," he added.
