The Rizzler effect? Taylor Fritz unbeaten after 9-year-old TikTok star tells him to “lock in”

Sometimes even the pros need a little extra help bouncing back from a tough loss—and for Taylor Fritz, that boost came courtesy of his girlfriend Morgan Riddle, and a nine-year-old TikTok sensation.

Riddle, a content creator and tennis influencer, revealed on social media last week that she once paid Christian Joseph—better known as “The Rizzler”—to tell Fritz that he needs to get his act together:

“Yo what’s up Taylor, it’s the Rizzler,” the third grader says in a video message, pausing to hit his trademark “Rizz Face” before getting serious:

“Lock in this week and not be a loser… And play good tennis.”

Read More: What was the key to Taylor Fritz's first win against Carlos Alcaraz? "Getting out of that first game"

Read More: Introvert King Taylor Fritz sends cat memes at the club after Laver Cup victory

The Rizzler, a TikTok star from New Jersey, went viral for his signature expression and has since become a social-media sensation. He’s appeared with the Costco Guys, thrown out a first pitch at a New York Mets game, and even showed up on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He now boasts 2 million followers on Instagram and 1.7 million on TikTok.

In the video, he grabs a broom to demonstrate what good tennis looks like, taking a few animated practice swings before signing off with another hilariously blunt piece of advice for Fritz:

“Don’t be a loser. Be a winner… If you’re a loser, get out of here. You can’t be my friend. Peace!”

Morgan shared the clip with her 607K+ TikTok followers, captioning it: “best money i’ve ever spent sorry pookie.” Fans seemed to agree, flooding the comments with lines like:

“Top 5 ranked ATP player getting tennis tips from the rizzler 😭”

“I just know he played this before the Carlos match”

“We know who to thank for Taylor’s win against Alcaraz”

Read More: Fresh off heroics at Laver Cup in San Francisco, Taylor Fritz makes winning start in Tokyo

And maybe they’re onto something. Ever since Riddle posted the video during Laver Cup, Fritz has been on a tear.

In San Francisco, Fritz went undefeated in singles, beating world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 6-2 and later sealing Team World’s victory with a 6-3, 7-6(4) win over Alexander Zverev. That triumph gave his squad its third Laver Cup title in four years.

He’s carried that momentum into Tokyo at the ATP 500 Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, where he’s rolled past Gabriel Diallo, Nuno Borges, Sebastian Korda, and most recently Jenson Brooksby in straight sets.

“Honestly, just by (serve) botting,” Fritz explained after his 6-4, 6-3 semifinal win. “I served insanely well, high-percentage first serves and spots, too. It felt like any game that I didn’t hit three aces, he was really outplaying me from the baseline. I was able to hang in on my serve, and then capitalize on that scoreboard pressure. My serve got me through it.”

Now, Fritz—the 2022 Tokyo champion—is headed back to the final, where he’ll face Alcaraz once again. The Spaniard defeated No. 4 seed Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Monday to book his place.

You can catch the final on Tennis Channel, live and on demand. The match begins at 6:00 PM local time in Tokyo, which is 5:00 AM EST on Tuesday.