Fritz Beat Zverev In A Tough Come Back
Taylor Fritz is in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for a fourth time but has not gone further
American Taylor Fritz produced a terrific Wimbledon escape act by coming back from two sets down to beat fourth seed Alexander Zverev.
Fritz, the 13th seed, gained a 4-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 victory over his German opponent on Centre Court on Monday.
Zverev was aiming to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time and did not face a break point in the opening two sets.
But Fritz, 26, became the first player to break the Zverev serve at this tournament during the third set, before edging the fourth to move the match into a decider.
Zverev was wearing a support on his left knee after slipping in the late stages of his third-round win over Britain’s Cameron Norrie, and as he faded a crucial break went the way of Fritz in the fourth game of the final set.
For Fritz, a second appearance in the last eight at Wimbledon awaits him, two years after he lost to Rafael Nadal in a five-set thriller at that stage. It will be a fourth Grand Slam quarter-final in all for him, and he has yet to go further.
Zverev had been only two games away from victory in the third set but has now fallen at the last-16 stage of Wimbledon on three occasions after also doing the same in 2017 and 2021.
Next for Fritz will be Lorenzo Musetti, who reached his first Slam quarter-final by surging past lucky loser Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard earlier in the day.
The Italian 25th seed struggled against the big-serving Frenchman in the first set before adapting his approach to win 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-2.
Defeat ended an impressive run for Mpetshi Perricard, who was attempting to become the first lucky loser, man or woman, to reach the singles quarter-finals of a Grand Slam.
An emotional Musetti said after his victory: “It is a really phenomenal day for me.”
Playing on his 21st birthday, Mpetshi Perricard entertained the court two crowd in the early stages with trick shots and huge serves.
He lost in the final round of qualifying before being handed a reprieve after withdrawals from the main draw, and then made eye-catching progress – until Musetti had too much for him.
The 22-year-old Musetti said: “I’ve been dreaming of this moment since I was a kid. I always had a really beautiful family that always supported me.”
The win continues an impressive grass-court swing for Musetti, who was a runner-up to Tommy Paul at Queen’s Club last month.
Australian Alex de Minaur, the ninth seed, booked his spot in the quarter-finals for the first time with a 6-2 6-4 4-6 6-3 win against France’s Arthur Fils on Court One.
Osabuohien Imuetinyanosa.
