It wasn’t to be for Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon in 2025, as he came up just short in the semifinals.
Competing in the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time in his career, Fritz gave a good account of himself on Centre Court.
The American fought tooth and nail with two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, taking a set off him to tie things at 4-6, 7-5.
When his level dropped in the third, losing the set 3-6, Fritz refused to give in, pushing on to send the fourth set to a tiebreaker.
Leading 6-4 in the tiebreaker, Fritz didn’t put a foot wrong, but experienced the talents of Alcaraz firsthand, as the Spaniard miraculously escaped to clinch the set and his place in the final.
Watching Fritz sit down on his chair after the match, former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli noticed something in the world number five.
Marion Bartoli saw Taylor Fritz in ‘disbelief’ as he sat down in his chair
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, 2013 Wimbledon champion Bartoli shared what she saw in Fritz as he sat down.
“Just looking at Taylor Fritz right now, who is sort of sitting on his chair with disbelief,” she said.
“He just played four incredible points up 6-4 in that tiebreaker, and somehow lost four of them.
“When he had sitters on the forehands, when he had played incredible returns, when he served really well on that set point at 6-4, and still ended up losing that match in four, but what a way to finish it from Carlos Alcaraz.”
The Frenchwoman couldn’t help but feel bad for the 27-year-old, who played his part in a thrilling semifinal tie.
“I’m still a little bit gutted for Taylor Fritz, because he had that fourth set on his racket, he did so well to get himself in that position, at 6-4 he hit that perfect serve on the line and somehow Carlos was able to keep that return in play,” said Bartoli.
“Then after that, just played back to back, four incredible points. You just felt we had that five sets, and it would come to the perfect end of that first semifinal.”
It wasn’t to be, as Alcaraz got the job done in four sets, extending his winning streak to 24 matches.
Carlos Alcaraz’s 24-match ATP Tour winning streak
Alcaraz’s win over Fritz was his 24th in a row on the ATP Tour, a streak that has spanned three months and four tournaments.
- Wins 1-6: Italian Open (May)
- Wins 7-13: French Open (May/June)
- Wins 14-18: Queen’s (June)
- Wins 19-24: Wimbledon (June/July)
Bartoli believes Alcaraz’s remarkable winning streak helped him secure the win against Fritz in four sets.
“An absolutely incredible effort from Carlos Alcaraz,” she said.
“Once again, he is showing, even though he is young, his ability to handle the big moments so well.
“His winning streak is helping him in those moments, just to hang in there, to stay with it, to believe he can clinch that fourth set and finish it in four.
“You can see from the relief from his own team that he was tense; it was not easy, but he’s into the Wimbledon final.”
Securing his 24th consecutive win, Alcaraz edged closer to matching Jannik Sinner’s winning run from earlier in the year.
The Spaniard’s closest rival won 26 matches in a row, bookended by two defeats to Alcaraz, at the 2024 China Open and at the 2025 Italian Open.
- Wins 1-6: Shanghai Masters (October 2024)
- Wins 7-11: ATP Finals (November 2024)
- Wins 12-14: Davis Cup Finals (November 2024)
- Wins 15-21: Australian Open (January 2025)
- Wins 22-26: Italian Open (May 2025)
If Alcaraz were to win the Wimbledon final, he would need two wins at his next tournament to surpass Sinner.
The 22-year-old will next appear at the Canadian Open, an event at which he has won just two career matches.
Alcaraz won’t want to be thinking about a trip to Toronto yet, however, as he first focuses on the Wimbledon final, where he will play either Sinner or Novak Djokovic on Sunday, July 13.
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