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American tennis star Taylor Fritz is the latest jock to lend to the alleviation funds for the wildfires successful the greater Los Angeles area.
Fritz, 27, said connected Thursday that helium is donating the prize wealth helium earned for his first-round triumph astatine the Australian Open – astir $82,000 – toward the alleviation funds.
"I mean, I consciousness similar it’s truly the slightest I tin do," Fritz said.
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Fritz was calved successful Rancho Santa Fe, California, and is inactive based successful the state.
"Obviously, ‘SoCal’ has been my location forever. I inactive walk a batch of clip successful LA, but I lived successful LA for rather a while. I person friends impacted, household not truthful much. I had immoderate household person to evacuate. The location that my brothers grew up successful burnt down. Obviously, they’re not surviving determination anymore," Fritz said aft reaching the 3rd circular at Melbourne Park with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 triumph implicit qualifier Cristian Garín of Chile.
"A batch of radical are affected by it. I consciousness similar if you’re successful a spot to help, past you should."
Authorities person not determined a origin for the large blazes successful what is connected way to go the nation’s costliest occurrence disaster, with astatine slightest 27 radical dormant and thousands of homes destroyed.
Fritz is not the lone tennis subordinate with connections to the Los Angeles country who is competing astatine the Australian Open.
Naomi Osaka, a four-time large champion, said she sent idiosyncratic to retrieve her 1 ½ year-old daughter’s commencement certificate from their California location successful lawsuit it got caught up successful the fires.
Tristan Boyer, a 23-year-old from California, who had a first-round triumph but mislaid Thursday, said his begetter had to evacuate their location successful Altadena.
"We person friends and household who are stateless now. It’s really, truly devastating to see," Boyer said. "Obviously, trying to bash what I request to bash to prep and play tennis, but power what I tin power successful this moment. But it’s hard for sure."
Fritz, the No. 4 ranked subordinate successful the tournament, volition instrumentality connected Gaël Monfils connected Saturday for a berth successful the 4th round, but his caput volition inactive beryllium connected what is happening backmost home.
"I conscionable privation everyone to evidently enactment safe," Fritz said.
"It's conscionable insane what happened."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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