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Tennys Sandgren has backed Taylor Fritz and hit out at tennis fans for criticizing his compatriot over apparent homophobic sentiments.
On 14 February, Sean Strickland, the American MMA fighter known for his controversial views on the LGBTQ community, posted on social media. The verbally abusive post viciously ridiculed Pride Month. On the same day, a user proceeded to comment on the post saying that the USA's founding fathers would hit reset if they woke up to experience Pride Month celebrations.
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ATP World No. 10 Fritz liked the comment and soon found himself facing flak for indirectly siding with Strickland's homophobic sentiments. However, the 26-year-old soon took to social media himself to clear the air. Fritz expressed his shock and also claimed innocence, saying that he must have accidentally liked the comment.
Now, Tennys Sandgren has come to Fritz's defense and lambasted fans for being critical of the World No. 10 and forcing him to save his image by providing clarification online.
"LOL it'll never not be funny to me that people actually troll around on peoples likes to try and harm their careers", the 32-year-old American tennis player wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Taylor Fritz won the Delray Beach Open for the second year in a row
Taylor Fritz won his seventh ATP Tour title at the recently-concluded Delray Beach Open. He won the tournament last year as well after beating Miomir Kecmanovic. This year, the 26-year-old and top seed made his way into the final after getting the better of Nuno Borges, Rinky Hijikata, and Marcos Giron.
In the final, Fritz faced Tommy Paul, a player he has competed against since his days as a junior. Third seed Paul had an impressive run to the final as well. The World No. 14, who came into the tournament after winning the Dallas Open, dispatched Alex Michelsen, Jordan Thompson, and Frances Tiafoe to set up a final clash against Fritz.
Ultimately, though, it turned out to be a one-sided contest between the first and third seeds, as Fritz cruised to the title. The World No. 10 was superior throughout the match and won it 6-2, 6-3.
After the match, Fritz recalled a hilarious story that dates back to the first time he faced Paul.
"We were really young and he (Paul) was way better than me. He got on court at the same time as Frances (Tiafoe), I think and they had a bet with each other to see who could win faster. So I was just the poor guy that he was beating down on," Fritz said in his post-match interview.
