Fritz rallies to stun Zverev for spot in Wimbledon QFs

  • Posted: Jul 08, 2024

Taylor Fritz on Monday earned one of the most stunning victories of Wimbledon.

The 13th seed rallied from two sets down to shock fourth seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-3 for a spot in the quarter-finals of The Championships. The American will face 25th seed Lorenzo Musetti for a place in the semi-finals.

“It was amazing to do that on Centre Court from two sets down,” Fritz said. “I thought it would really suck to be playing this well and to lose in three straight. I had the belief. I thought I was playing really good tennis… and that it was just a couple of points here and there. I thought I could take it one set at a time and turn it around.”

It marked the third time the American has battled back from two sets down and emerged victorious. Fittingly, the first player Fritz achieved the feat against was Zverev’s older brother, Mischa Zverev (R1, 2018 US Open), who was in the Centre Court players’ box cheering on ‘Sascha’.

Zverev entered the match in imperious serving form having not lost serve through three matches. With plenty of confidence after his run to the Roland Garros final, he did not face a break point in the second round against Marcos Giron or the third round against Cameron Norrie.

But when the two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion double faulted at 4-4 in the third set to relinquish his first service break of the tournament, the tenor of the match changed. Fritz had been holding his own, but he grew in confidence as the match wore on and raised his level to triumph after hours and 29 minutes. Zverev now leads Fritz 5-4 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, including 2-1 at The Championships.

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Zverev walked on Centre Court wearing a gray knee sleeve on his left knee after overextending it during his third-round victory against home favourite Norrie. The sleeve appeared similar to the one seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic has been wearing following the Serbian’s surgery to repair a torn meniscus. The fourth seed revealed the nature of his injury after the match.

“I have a bone edema in my knee, then I have also a tear in my capsule in my knee. That came from the fall. That came from the match against Norrie,” Zverev said. “So it is quite painful for that period of time. It is nothing that I need surgery on. It is nothing that doesn’t heal by itself. It just needs time.”

But Zverev, who was trying to reach his first quarter-final at SW19, did not show many signs of struggling with movement for most of the match. More glaringly, Fritz played a nearly flawless final three sets to surge past the German and into his second Wimbledon quarter-final in three years.

The 26-year-old hit 67 winners to just 23 unforced errors, and delivered 15 aces in the match. He won 69 per cent of his second-serve points compared to just 47 per cent for Zverev.

The American will next take on 25th seed Lorenzo Musetti, against whom he owns a 2-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head advantage. Musetti, a first-time major quarter-finalist, defeated Fritz 6-4, 6-4 earlier this year on clay in Monte-Carlo.

“It’s going to be a tough match. He’s had a really good grass-court season,” Fritz said. “It’s my second time in the quarter-finals, but this time it feels like I’ve earned it a lot more, so I’m really excited for the chance.”

Fritz has won eight consecutive grass-court matches dating back to the start of the Rothesay International in Eastbourne. The eight-time ATP Tour titlist has claimed three of his crowns on grass, all in Eastbourne.

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