Taylor Fritz has become the first American in 16 years to reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon following a four-set victory over Karen Khachanov.
The 27-year-old is bidding to become a Grand Slam champion for the very first time and this is now the furthest he’s been at Wimbledon.
Fritz was in cruise control for two sets of this contest and fought back brilliantly to win it in four after Khachanov found some momentum in set three.
John McEnroe had some advice for Fritz in the build-up to this match and it would appear that he took some of that on board as he secured a memorable victory.
Taylor Fritz says something happened in Wimbledon match he’s never had before
Fritz looked to be running towards a routine three-set win in the early stages of this one but Khachanov did a great job of pinning him back.
After the match in his on-court interview, Fritz admitted that something happened to him that he’s never experienced before.
He said: “I am feeling great to get through it. The match was going so well for me for two sets. I have never had a match just flip so quickly. So I am really happy with how I kind of came back in the fourth set and got it done. I think momentum was definitely not going to be on my side going into the fifth.”
Fritz admitted that the third set was tricky but he couldn’t put his finger on why he experienced the drop off in form during that set.
He continued: “He definitely started playing a bit better, but I feel like I gave him a bit of hope with not the best game to start the third set for me. I have never really had a match change like that so drastically, where I felt so in control, serving great, playing great. I did not feel like my serve was in danger; I felt like I was putting a lot of pressure on his serve and then out of nowhere, I started making a ton of mistakes.
“Before, I felt like I could not miss, and then all of a sudden, I was making a ton of mistakes, and he was putting a lot of balls in play. I really had to fight to get that break back in the fourth and get the match back to neutral.”
There was also a worry in that set when Fritz appeared to be having his foot heavily strapped after seemingly struggling with a blister.
On that predicament, he advised: “It’s totally fine. It is pretty common. A lot of players do this tape job on their feet to make sure the foot does not get irritated, but I think I ripped it off at some point in the second, so I think I needed to get it redone.”
Fritz is now through to a semi-final at Wimbledon for the first time and he’s clearly buzzing to get over the line and make it through.
The American finished by saying: “It’s an amazing feeling having played the quarter finals here twice and lost in five twice I don’t think I could have taken another one so I am really happy I am going to get to play the semis here.”
What Marion Bartoli noticed about Taylor Fritz during win over Karen Khachanov
The tie-break that Fritz played that led to him winning the match was nothing short of outstanding and for that, he deserves immense credit.
Bartoli has won Wimbledon before, and she confessed she was extremely impressed with his showing against the number 17 seed from Russia.
She said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “What a tiebreak Taylor (Fritz) played, because honestly, Karen (Khachanov) except that ball at 4-5 on his serve, that was the only unforced error in that whole tie break. Everything else was just brilliant winners, either on the serve or from the back of the court or coming to the net.
“The confidence that Taylor Fritz is carrying within his racket bag, coming with so many wins on the grass, is absolutely showing up in those crucial moments, just a great entertaining match on Court One, but it’s the American that comes out on top.”
Fritz has worked tirelessly at his game in the last four years and to be recognised as one of the game’s top players by winning a Grand Slam looks like the next step.
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