Australian Open star gives away his prize money in heartwarming gesture

Taylor Fritz.

Taylor Fritz in action at the Australian Open. (Image: Getty.)

American star pledged to give away the entirety of his first-round winnings to help Los Angeles fire relief efforts, having breezed into the third round.

Speaking after he defeated Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin 6-2, 6-1, 6-0, Fritz revealed that he would be financially supporting those in need back home with a £67,000 donation.

“I just want everyone to stay safe. It’s just insane what happened,” Fritz said on court. “I wanted to say something after my first-round match but I’m going to be donating my first-round prize money to LA wildfire relief funds.

“It’s really the least I could do. Southern California’s my home and LA was my home for a very long time so I’m just doing what I can do to help. I would encourage anyone else who can donate to help too because a lot of people really need help.”

Fritz, a California-born star out of San Diego, has been among many to watch on in horror as the and at least two dozen more are missing.

Tens of thousands of LA residents are still unable to return to their homes, while nearly 100,000 are in evacuation warning zones and a public health emergency declared.

TENNIS: JAN 16 Australian Open

Taylor Fritz after reaching the Australian Open third round. (Image: Getty)

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Adding his his post-match press conference, Fritz said: “Yeah, I mean, I feel like it’s really, like, the least I can do. Obviously So. Cal has been my home forever. I spent a lot of time, I still spend a lot of time in L.A., but I lived in L.A. for quite a while.

“I have friends impacted. Family not so much. I had some family have to evacuate. The house that my brothers grew up in burnt down. Obviously they’re not living there anymore. Yeah, I mean, a lot of people are affected by it. I feel like if you’re in a place to help, then you should.”

Having downed Garin in just 82 minutes, Fritz set up a fourth-round tie with veteran Gael Monfils, who has been enjoying a resurgence this season.

Fritz caused concern when injuring his knee, however, but vowed to be fully fit to take on the 38-year-old Frenchman.

“I just hyperextended my knee running for a ball, which could probably be a bigger problem for some other people,” he said. “But my knees just hyperextend a lot and are very flexible.

“I kind of just jammed it. It hurt for, like, 30 seconds, like a minute. I kind of had to take a second for the pain to go away. Test it, make sure it was fine.

“Yeah, after I just kind of take a second, I felt fine. There was maybe like a little bit of pain when I took it the other way. Maybe did like a full bend on it. But not really any situations on the court where I’m going into that position. So it’s fine. I would expect it just to be a little sore [tomorrow]. I really think I’m going to be totally fine.”

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