Morgan Riddle says she’s embarrassed about the way she met US Open finalist Taylor Fritz. The couple, dubbed tennis’ answer to ‘Posh and Becks’ have been going out since 2020, after matching each other on celebrity dating app Raya – a fact she humorously admitted on TikTok still “mortifies” her.
It was the height of the Covid-19 pandemic at the time, so bars and restaurants were a no-go. As such so Fritz, 26, invited Riddle, 27, over to his place to watch a movie for their first date.
But rather than sticking on a silly rom-com or cosy chick-flick, the pair decided to watch a horror film – something Riddle admitted she instantly regretted. “I made him watch Midsommar with me, the really messed up horror movie,” the influencer recalled.
“Why I chose that as my first introduction to a guy, I don’t really know. I think I traumatised him a little bit.”
Fortunately, their burdgeoning relationship survived its hairy start, and now they’re tennis’ golden couple. Riddle, who is best known for her vlogs and “day in the life” content on YouTube and TikTok has hundreds of thousands of subscribers on social media.
Taylor and Morgan appeared in the Netflix series Break Point, which featured tennis professionals as they competed in Grand Slam tournaments. In one of her most viral videos, she said she wants to make “tennis cool again.”
During the espisode, she claimed tennis was “relatively uncool and unknown in America”, which sparked something of an online backlash. Taylor responded by defending her in a 2022 press conference. “I think what she did was awesome for our sport. It got a ton of people looking at it,” he said.
“I think you get your typical older fan who may be upset about it. I don’t understand how anyone can get upset about it. I’m the one that’s a professional tennis player, I’m the one that does this for a living. I 100 percent agree with everything in that video.”
Riddle has been pictured court-side during Fritz’s matches at the US Open over the past couple of weeks, cheering her beau on. The American is facing World No. 1 Jannick Sinner in the final today (September 8), and victory will secure his first ever Grand Slam title. It’ll also mark the first Grand Slam victory for an American man since Andy Roddick won the US Open way back in 2003.
Prior to the tournament, the current World No.12 had never managed to get beyond the quarter-finals of a major, having been knocked out in the last eight four times on the trot – and three times in the last 12 months. After cruising through the first three rounds with three successive straight sets victories, Fritz faced his first serious test in the fourth against World No. 8 Casper Ruud.
Despite going a set down, he rallied to beat the Norwegian in four. The California native then secured a decisive four-set win over fourth seed Alexander Zverev, before facing compatriot Frances Tiafoe in the semis.
Fritz came out on top in a gruelling five-set thriller, becoming the first American man to reach a Grand Slam final since Roddick in 2006 in the process. His final opponent, Sinner, will no doubt be his toughest test yet though.
The Italian, 23, has dropped just two sets all tournament, and has been in sparkling form all year. He won the Australian Open and reached the semi-finals of the French, and has been World No. 1 since June.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk