Taylor Fritz says 'someone on League of Legends told me to 'touch grass' so I did'

Taylor Fritz's career-best Wimbledon run may have been spurred on by an internet troll.

"Someone on 'League of Legends' told me to 'touch grass' so I did," wrote the world No. 4 and avid gamer on social media after beating Karen Khachanov to advance to his first Wimbledon semifinal, where he'll face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz on Friday

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The phrase "touch grass" is internet parlance, used to tell someone to go outside with the implication that the receiver is spending too much time online. While being the fourth-best tennis player in the world, Fritz is also a world-class gamer, ranking in the top 12% of all players in League of Legends, an online battle game where two teams of players compete to destroy the other team's base.

He says the "one of the things I enjoy, to like kind of grind and play when I’m not playing [tennis]."

“I’m such a competitive person so I like to compete in other ways," he told The Associated Press last year.

He enjoys playing as a "jungler" in the game, where he ranks in Emerald 3, and often streams himself playing on Twitch.

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However, the hobby is reserved exclusively for his time off from tournaments. He doesn't boot up his computer on match days.

“It sounds crazy, but the game—and especially the position I play in the game—is very mentally taxing and mentally draining,” Fritz says. “I have to be super dialed in.”

But as it's turned out, Fritz has "touched grass" quite a lot this summer, winning two titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne and logging nearly 13 hours on court in his five Wimbledon wins so far. And he will need to be "dialed in" to reach his second Grand Slam final.

He has yet to beat Alcaraz in a tour match, though they've never played in a best-of-five-set match before.