Zverev Continues Wimbledon Quest With Hard-Fought Win
Fourth seed Alexander Zverev fought past Taylor Fritz 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(4) on Saturday to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon, equalling his best performance at The Championships.
The German rallied after losing the first set, as he fired 19 aces and hit 45 winners to advance in two hours and 37 minutes. Zverev is bidding to win his first Grand Slam title at SW19 after reaching the semi-finals at Roland Garros (l. to Tsitsipas) in June and the US Open final (l. to Thiem) last year.
The 24-year-old, who also reached the fourth round at the All England Club in 2017, will next face 16th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime after Nick Kyrgios retired during their clash.
After Fritz fended off two break points in his opening service game, he grew into the match. The 23-year-old struck the ball cleanly from the baseline, hitting 13 winners to force a tie-break which he claimed when Zverev pushed a forehand wide.
Zverev battled back in the second set, winning 94 per cent (15/16) of his first-service points as he moved 3-1 ahead. The German was temporally pegged back but continued to close the net effectively, showing good touch to level. Zverev did not lose a single point (18/18) behind his first serve or face a break point in the third set as he moved ahead on No. 2 Court.
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In the fifth game of the fourth set, Zverev applied yet more pressure on Fritz’s serve, stepping up the court to attack his backhand. However, the World No. 40 held as he hit a superb forehand from well behind the baseline to deny Zverev on break point. The set then moved into a tie-break, which the German claimed when Fritz hit a forehand return long.
Fritz, who underwent knee surgery three weeks ago, matched his best display at a Grand Slam this week at SW19. The American has enjoyed runs to the semi-final at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open Doha (l. to Basilashvili) and the Sardegna Open in Cagliari (l. to Sonego) this year.