Taylor Fritz is finally into the Wimbledon second round, having beaten Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in a monumental match that spanned two different days.
Started on Monday afternoon, as the sun set on a superb opening day at the All-England Club, there were fears over whether this big-serving affair would be finished in time for the 11 pm curfew.
Making a bold decision, Wimbledon chose to delay the match, with the final set to be finished the following day.
Taylor Fritz, who had hauled himself back into the match from two sets to love down, was understandably frustrated.
He will now be happier than anyone to have re-emerged the following day to finish what he started, winning 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-4.
Taylor Fritz gives his verdict on his Wimbledon delay
Speaking for the first time after the controversial delay, which saw his match stopped just as the fifth set was due to begin, Fritz’s assessment seemed far more measured.
After all, it’s easy to be magnanimous when the eventual outcome favours you, as it did on this occasion for the American.
Asked about that delay, he admitted: ‘I mean, it was not ideal. I felt like if we were not going to have time to finish the fifth set then absolutely, I think it makes sense not to play the fifth set but we are having sets about as long as you can play them and they were still in the time frame we had last night to play the fifth.
‘I wanted to play it but either way I felt confident coming back and winning today.’
Then asked about Mpetshi Perricard’s record-breaking serve, Fritz continued: ‘The funny thing is that I always tell my coach that I should try to serve body and I think body serves are awful. I never win the point when I do it.
‘I sent the video to my coach saying there you go, he served the fastest serve in the history of Wimbledon right into my chest and I won the point, so there is your proof. Body serves are bad.’
Taylor Fritz’s Wimbledon draw is wide open
When Fritz’s Wimbledon draw was made, a few threats were instantly identified who might have been able to end his run early.
Naturally, Mpetshi Perricard in the very first round was chief among them, as arguably the most fearsome opening match he could have been given.
Having overcome that, the 27-year-old will be buoyed to see how the rest of the draw has opened up in front of him, with Daniil Medvedev and Alexei Popyrin, two top seeds, both already being knocked out.
Delving further out, Alexander Zverev now seems like the only tangible danger to his progression into the semi-finals, with Matteo Berrettini having been dispatched from his section of the draw too.
With quarter-final points to defend, Fritz might actually be on track to go one step further this year.
After all, Martina Navratilova has predicted how far Fritz will go at Wimbledon, clearly expecting big things.
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