Taylor Fritz's girlfriend reacts to the American being compared to a koala after 1R win at Australian Open 2023 

Taylor Fritz's girlfriend Morgan Riddle recently reacted to the American being compared to a koala after winning his first-round encounter at the 2023 Australian Open.

Taylor Fritz made an excellent start to his 2023 Australian Open campaign with a commanding victory against Nikoloz Basilashvili on Tuesday, January 17. A year after reaching his maiden Grand Slam fourth round at the Major in Melbourne Park, Fritz defeated Basilashvili, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.

The American unleashed 31 aces in the triumph, advancing to the second round in Melbourne for the fifth consecutive year. He will lock horns with Alexei Popyrin in the second round.

Following the 25-year-old's triumph, the Tennis Channel turned to social media to compare him to a koala, writing:

"He's got that koala in him," the caption of the post read.

Following that, Taylor Fritz's girlfriend and social media influencer Morgan Riddle commented on the post. She didn't write anything, however; she did post two skull emoticons, which mean "death" in a light-hearted way.

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"I had to just be more reactive to him today, I am happy with how I've been playing" - Taylor Fritz on his match against Nikoloz Basilashvili

Taylor Fritz pictured at the 2023 Australian Open - Day 2.

In a post-match press conference, Taylor Fritz noted that he had a nice week of practice before coming to the 2023 Australian Open. He added that he had to be more "reactive" in his match against Basilashvili since the Georgian played really aggressively.

"Coming into this week I had a very good week in Sydney, and practice-wise this week I've been hitting the ball well, practicing well," Fritz said.

"I think today was tough to gauge my level because I can't really play my game when I'm playing against Basilashvili. He's hitting every ball so hard, I can't ever really get a chance to attack off of him. That's probably just not a good idea to try and attack, so I had to just be more reactive to him today. So it's tough to really gauge my level from the ground. I thought aside from two games, I served very well," he added.

The American went on to say that he was "excited" to play the next match and that he was "happy" with his recent performances.

"I think next match I'm excited to play. I'll get a lot more looks and just play the way I want to play and be aggressive and be in control of points. But I am happy with how I've been playing," Fritz said.