Alexander Zverev delivered a light-hearted, X-rated jibe at rival Taylor Fritz after their clash on Sunday afternoon.
The German suffered his fifth consecutive defeat against American star Fritz, who clinched the Stuttgart Open title after a 6-3, 7-6 win.
Evidently, Zverev’s poor record against his rival was playing on his mind as he delivered a post-match speech, where he jokingly took aim at Fritz.
Speaking on court, Zverev said: ‘Taylor, I’m f***ing tired of you. I don’t wanna see you again over the next 2 to 3 years.
‘Please stay away from me. Don’t come to Germany anymore’.
While Fritz and Zverev have clashed on the court numerous times over the years, the same can also be said for the German star and his rival’s girlfriend, Morgan Riddle.
Alexander Zverev delivered a light-hearted, X-rated jibe at rival Taylor Fritz after their clash
Fritz watched on as Zverev insisted he is ‘f***ing tired’ of playing against the American
It was after the five-set thriller at Wimbledon last year that Zverev expressed displeasure over the noise coming from Fritz’s box, where his girlfriend Morgan Riddle was seated.
Adding to the intrigue was a curious social media post from Riddle that many saw as a reference to 2020 domestic abuse claims against Zverev – which he denied.
A social media influencer who has 17.2million likes on TikTok, Riddle has since deleted an Instagram video that included the caption: ‘when your man wins 4 the girls.’
She had posted a picture of the court to her story and wrote, ‘cheer loud ladies.’ That post was also taken down.
After that match, Fritz sat down for an interview with The Tennis Channel and shed light on the feud – following a discussion with Zverev on court.
He explained: ‘I think he was a little upset about my team members cheering for me when he was injured but he said: “It’s nothing to do with you. You’re all good…” Whatever, it’s all good.’
Zverev said afterwards that he was upset with some people in Fritz’s box who ‘may not be from the tennis world.’
‘His team is extremely respectful. I think his coach, his physio, also his second coach, they’re extremely respectful,’ Zverev said.
Zverev previously clashed with Fritz’s girlfriend Morgan Riddle (right) at Wimbledon
It was all smiles between the pair after their match at the Stuttgart Open on Sunday
‘I think there’s some other people that maybe are in the box that are not maybe from the tennis world, that are not maybe from particularly watching every single match. They were a bit over the top.’
Zverev agreed to pay around $240,000, last year, in a June settlement with his accuser, the mother of his child, but was not convicted of any crime and maintains his innocence.
The ATP investigated the claims (via an outside firm) for 15 months but ultimately did not discipline Zverev on the basis of insufficient evidence.
Following his settlement in June, Zverev said ‘I told you so from the start, I told everybody. I’m happy that it’s over. Yeah, nothing else more to say.’
Meanwhile, after Fritz knocked Zverev out in New York with a four-set victory to reach the US Open semifinals last year, Riddle took to social media to celebrate the victory.
She shared a video from Arthur Ashe taking in the full surroundings and, alongside three nail polish emojis, wrote: ‘Semi finalsssss’.
Some may view the emoji choice as pointed – the nail polish emoji is used by some to indicate sass or self-confidence but Riddle’s use was ambiguous enough.
