Andre Agassi said he would ‘fine’ Taylor Fritz if he was his coach after he attempted a ‘tweener’ in his Wimbledon semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz.
Fritz was bidding to cause a huge upset against two-time defending Wimbledon champion Alcaraz and reach his second Grand Slam final.
But the American world number five lost the first set 6-4 after his impressive serve was broken in the very first game of the match.
In the second game of the second set, Fritz was forced to run in the direction of the baseline following a pinpoint lob from Alcaraz and attempted a crowd-pleasing ‘hot dog’ shot, hitting the ball backwards through their legs.
But Fritz miscued his effort into the net and looked a little sheepish after the point.
‘If I was his coach I would fine him 100 bucks for trying a tweener there,’ eight-time Grand Slam champion Agassi said on BBC One.
BBC commentator Andrew Castle then said: ‘You don’t approve?’
The 1992 Wimbledon champion replied: ‘I don’t approve of that.
‘It’s one thing if you just get to the ball and it’s your only shot but he could have thrown it up into the blue sky and into the hot sun and hoped for something a little better.’
Another former Wimbledon winner, Marion Bartoli, said the attempted ‘hot dog’ highlighted Fritz’s ‘lack of experience’ in a Grand Slam semi-final.
‘It’s not a good drop shot from Alcaraz for once and that’s where you think Taylor should finish the point,’ she told BBC Radio 5 Live.
‘Not only does he not finish it but he almost embarrasses himself trying a tweener and completely misses. He’s showing a bit of a lack of experience at this stage of the tournament.
‘I think Fritz got broken in that first game by being shocked at Alcaraz coming that quickly at him.
‘That’s why in big matches if you are a bit inexperienced you want to return first to give yourself three or four minutes to be nervous but unfortunately for him he was first and he was broken.’
Alcaraz looked in complete control of the first men’s semi-final after taking the opening set 6-4 but was broken himself in the second as Fritz levelled.
‘That was what we talked about,’ former British number one Tim Henman said as Fritz took the second set. ‘Building scoreboard pressure, getting your nose in front and dealing with your own tennis.
‘The intensity dropped from Alcaraz. All of a sudden it is game on and one set all.’
Annabel Croft, another former British number one, added: ‘I didn’t see that coming at all.
‘I always felt Carlos was in control but serving first made a real difference for Fritz in that set. As you get towards the back end of the set, the pressure is enormous on the player serving.
‘Hats off to Fritz, he really earned that set. I think we’re in for a real tussle now.’
Fritz is searching for his maiden Grand Slam title, having lost to Jannik Sinner in last year’s US Open final. He won his fourth Eastbourne title on the grass in the run-up to Wimbledon.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, is hoping to win his third successive Wimbledon title an his sixth Grand Slam overall.
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