Will this woman cause a scandal for Zverev today?

This duel has a controversial history: When Alexander Zverev plays against Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals of the US Open today (from around 7:30 p.m. in the LIVETICKER), there is plenty of potential for conflict. Because the German is not only playing against the local hero – but also, to a certain extent, against his girlfriend.

Influencer Morgan Riddle is a regular guest at her friends’ matches, and it was only in the last duel between the two tennis stars that she caused trouble for Zverev.

A few months ago in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, the American dashed Zverev’s dreams of his first Grand Slam victory with a 4:6, 6:7, 6:4, 7:6, 6:3. The big topic after that, however, was Riddle.

After Fritz converted the match point, the obligatory handshake took place at the net. Zverev pulled a serious face and talked to Fritz. Fritz put up with it and then said in the winner’s interview in front of the court: “It’s all good,” and didn’t want to make an issue of it.

Zverev followed up at the press conference, but stressed that he had no problem with the American himself. “His team is very respectful. I think his coach, his physiotherapist and his assistant coach are all very respectful, but there may be people in the box who are not from the tennis world and don’t watch every game. They were a bit over the top.”

Although Zverev didn’t say it, it was clear who was meant: Riddle. The influencer cheered her partner on euphorically and loudly – obviously too loudly for Zverev. But that wasn’t all.

During the match, Riddle posted a picture of Centre Court in her Instagram story and wrote: “Cheer loud, ladies.”

After her boyfriend’s victory, they followed up and filmed herself drinking and dancing. She captioned it: “When your man wins for the ladies.”

The background to their statements is likely: Zverev was on trial for assault before the Berlin-Tiergarten district court. The 27-year-old was accused of an act of violence against his former girlfriend in May 2020.

But: The district court had provisionally suspended the assault case against Zverev on June 7. The background to the decision was an out-of-court settlement, as the court announced.

According to the court, Zverev had to pay 200,000 euros in return for the case being dropped. Of this, 150,000 euros are for the state treasury and 50,000 euros for a fund for charitable organizations. The decision was made at the request of the public prosecutor, the defendants and the Hamburg native’s ex-girlfriend, who is participating in the case as a co-plaintiff, agreed to the case being dropped.

“Alexander Zverev is still considered innocent (…). The dismissal does not imply a finding of guilt or an admission of guilt. “The legal presumption of innocence remains unaffected,” Zverev’s lawyers Anna Sophie Heuchemer and Katharina Dierlamm stated after the trial.

Zverev, who had lost to Fritz in the Wimbledon duel, said at the time that “everything was fine, no drama.” He fought back from two sets behind and of course everyone was very euphoric, very excited.”

Fritz also reported on the handshake in an interview with Tennis Channel: “He congratulated me on a good match. I think he was a bit annoyed because my box cheered me on so much, even though he was injured.”

Zverev, however, is going into today’s rematch in full possession of his strength. “Now I’m healthy, that’s the big difference,” emphasises the German, looking forward to “a great battle – hopefully with a different result than in Wimbledon”.

In pursuit of his long-awaited first Grand Slam title, he sees his big chance in the duel with the 12th ranked player from the USA. After the elimination of Olympic champion Novak Djokovic and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, the field of top favorites has been greatly reduced.

He will only be able to meet his main rivals Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev in the final. But Zverev doesn’t want to hear anything about that yet (“I have Taylor Fritz next. That’s the only thing that interests me”) and expects “a very, very tough match.” This is also likely to be the case because of the US fans in the stands – among them Morgan Riddle.