American Taylor Fritz comes back from two sets down to defeat Alexander Zverev in five sets and advance to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. (0:48)
LONDON — Taylor Fritz turned things around after dropping the opening two sets to defeat two-time Grand Slam finalist Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-3 on Monday and reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
The 13th-seeded Fritz, a 26-year-old from California, equaled his career-best showing at a major tournament.
“It was amazing to do that on Centre Court [at] Wimbledon, two sets down, in front of this crowd,” said Fritz, who lost to 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals at the All England Club two years ago. “The thing was, I felt like I was still playing really well for being down two sets. I was just thinking it would suck to be playing this well and just lose in three straight, so let’s take the third. … I had that belief.”
The match, played with the retractable Centre Court roof shut, was the 35th to go five sets at Wimbledon this year, tying the record for the most at any Slam event in the Open era, which began in 1968.
And Fritz’s comeback is the 11th from a two-set deficit in this edition of the grass-court tournament, more than in any other year.
The fourth-seeded Zverev was the runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open last month. He also lost in the final of the 2020 US Open against Dominic Thiem.
The German entered Monday having won all nine sets he played at Wimbledon this year and held in all 41 of his service games. But Fritz broke him one time each in the third and fifth sets.
Zverev played with a gray sleeve on his left knee, which he hurt during a fall in his previous match.
When it ended, Fritz threw his head back and let out a yell before meeting Zverev at the net for an extended chat.
“It felt like in the fifth set, he wasn’t moving as well,” Fritz said. “So, I just wished him the best.”
Fritz joined countryman Tommy Paul in the final eight, giving the United States two men that deep in the tournament for the first time since 2000.
Fritz’s quarterfinal opponent will be No. 25 Lorenzo Musetti, while No. 9 Alex De Minaur plays seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic or No. 15 Holger Rune, who were scheduled to meet in Monday night’s last match on Centre Court.
Musetti gave Italy three singles quarterfinalists at a major for the first time — he got there with No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the men’s bracket, and No. 7 Jasmine Paolini is still around in the women’s field — by beating Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2, and De Minaur eliminated Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Winners in women’s fourth-round matches included 2022 champion Elena Rybakina, No. 21 seed Elina Svitolina — who wore a black ribbon on her shirt to mourn victims of Russian missile attacks on her home country, Ukraine — and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. Rybakina faces Svitolina in the quarterfinals, and Ostapenko’s next opponent will be No. 11 Danielle Collins or 2021 French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova.
Rybakina moved on when No. 17 Anna Kalinskaya stopped playing because of a wrist injury, Svitolina overwhelmed Wang Xinyu 6-2, 6-1, and Ostapenko was a 6-2, 6-3 winner against Yulia Putintseva, who beat No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the third round.