Taylor Fritz is through to his second Wimbledon quarter-final after a tense five-set battle.
America’s Taylor Fritz endured a three-hour and a half battle with Alexander Zverev, eventually coming from two sets down to secure a historic win at Wimbledon 2024.
The match looked set to be the battle of the big servers with both Fritz and Zverev standing tall at over 6ft 4, and after the pair traded 34 aces, Fritz finally came through 4-6, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-3.
Heading into the match, Zverev was the only player whose serve had not been broken, with the reigning Olympic champion yet to drop a set so far at the championships.
The American maintained an astonishingly robust level and despite trailing by two sets, upon the persistent guidance from his team, marched to the biggest grand slam victory of his career to send the fourth seed packing.
Fritz and Zverev exchanged a lengthy embrace at the net, with the latter later confirming he was upset with certain people in Fritz’s box.
What was Taylor Fritz asking his team throughout the match?
With the American No 1 confronted by a total serving machine, it’s fair to assume there were moments the 13th seed would’ve felt utterly helpless.
Speaking to The Tennis Channel via YouTube, Fritz explained the advice he sought from his team and the adjustments he was making to his return position.
“I was trying to move around my returning position from the beginning. I have been returning from the baseline and chipping forehands for the entirety of the grass court season and it has been working well for me,” he told Martina Navratilova.
“I backed up and was hitting over it. For me, it felt like it was working better and I was just getting the reassurance from them that ‘this is working right? We keep doing this?’ And they were like, ‘Yeah, it looks good!’”
Remarkably, Fritz’s first comeback from two sets down was against Zverev’s older brother Mischa at the 2018 US Open.
The incredibly dynamic Lorenzo Mussetti awaits Fritz in the last eight, with the Italian’s astounding form on the grass taking him to the final at Queen’s in June, and the semi-finals in Stuttgart.
Is American tennis truly back?
While America’s WTA stars including Coco Gauff, Sofia Kenin, and Sloane Stephens have all picked up a major in the last few years, the men have been waiting over 20 years.
Andy Roddick’s 2003 US Open triumph was the last piece of major silverware a male American player picked up.
However, Queen’s champion and fellow American Tommy Paul also remains a hope, with Italy the only other nation to have multiple male players remaining in the draw.
Despite Paul preparing to play reigning champion, Carlos Alcaraz, the pair feature on opposite sides of the draw as an all-American men’s final remains a possibility.
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