No. 13 seed Taylor Fritz dropped the first two sets against No. 4 Alexander Zverev of Germany, but rallied for 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory to reach his second quarterfinal at Wimbledon on Monday in London.
Fritz, who lost to Spain’s Rafael Nadal in the 2022 quarterfinals, will face No. 25 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, who took down lucky loser Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.
“It was amazing to do that on Centre Court from two sets down,” Fritz said after his third career comeback when trailing by two sets. “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.”
Fritz finished with 67 winners, 15 aces and 23 unforced errors, while Zverev totaled 55 winners, 19 aces and 33 unforced errors. Fritz also won the battle of second-serve points, 69 percent to 47 percent.
Fritz, who was broken only once, earned a break to go up 3-1 in the fifth set. He then overcame an 0-30 deficit on his serve to take a 4-1 lead. The American closed out the match with a backhand winner on his own serve.
Musetti advanced to his first major quarterfinal, committing just eight unforced errors to 23 winners. After dropping serve midway through the opening set, he didn’t face another break point for the rest of the match.
“When I had the chance in the break points that I had during the match, and the games where I broke him, I was always, like, two points in advance,” Musetti said.
In other action, No. 9 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia defeated unseeded Arthur Fils of France 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to reach his first Wimbledon quarterfinal.
de Minaur made 72 percent (43 of 60) of his first-serve points and saved 9 of 16 break points, though Fils had the edge in winners (24 to 23). de Minaur also pushed Fils into 66 unforced errors while committing 41.
“I definitely made it a lot harder than I probably should have,” de Minaur said after the match. “But again, happy to get through. … I just backed my return, so very happy with that and on to the next.”
de Minaur will take on No. 2 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who rolled to a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 15 Holger Rune of Denmark.
Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, had his serve working the entire match, winning 74.5 percent (38 of 51) of his first serves and 72.4 percent (21 of 29) of second serves. The World No. 2 also saved both break points he faced in the two-hour, three-minute match.
“I am very pleased. I don’t think he played close to his best to be honest. It was a tough start for him,” said Djokovic, who has won 24 major titles. “He lost the first 12 points and I think that got to him mentally. … I am glad to get through in three sets.”
–Field Level Media
