Fritz eases past 10th seed in straight-sets victory
It has been 26 years since an American man last won Wimbledon, when Pete Sampras secured the final of his seven titles. Taylor Fritz aims to end that drought, and his performance on Court No 1 suggests he has a strong chance.
A semi-finalist at Wimbledon two years ago, Fritz delivered a performance reminiscent of Sampras by serving 23 aces to defeat the 10th seed Alexander Bublik in straight sets, 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-4, in a match lasting one hour and 38 minutes. Bublik also served powerfully, recording 13 aces, but Fritz hit 47 winners and committed only eight unforced errors. This victory advances Fritz to the quarter-finals, where he will face either French Open champion Alexander Zverev or Jiri Lehecka.
“I’m super happy with it,” Fritz said. “When I got my opportunities to break, I took them. When he got in some service games, had some looks and there were some scary moments, I served really well to get out of those situations. I thought I played really well.
“It’s a big thing in grand slams to get through matches without killing yourself on court. I had a tough one in the last round and it feels good to have a smooth one.”
Fritz was broken only once, in the third game, but immediately broke back. After that, he was nearly unbreakable on serve. His blocked returns were effective, as Bublik often attempted extravagant shots and missed enough to give Fritz the advantage.
The first-set tiebreak was decisive, with Fritz dominating 7-1. At 4-4 in the second set, with Bublik serving at 0-15, play was briefly halted due to loud noise from Centre Court and fans on Henman Hill. Upon resumption, Bublik double-faulted to fall behind 0-30. Two short drop shots followed, allowing Fritz to secure the break.
From that point, Fritz maintained control. He closed out the second set when Bublik's jump smash struck the back fence, prompting a laugh from the player. An early break in the third set effectively ended the contest. Despite Bublik executing one of his signature underarm serves and winning that point, Fritz served out the match confidently to reach the last eight for the fourth time.
De Minaur suffers ‘gut-wrenching’ loss to Cobolli
With early exits by Ben Shelton, Jakub Mensik, and Arthur Fils in his section, fifth seed Alex de Minaur saw a significant opportunity to advance deep into the tournament. However, he was unable to capitalize, losing 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-3 to Italy’s Flavio Cobolli.
The ninth seed Cobolli, who reached the Roland Garros final last month and Wimbledon quarter-finals last year, outplayed De Minaur, who admitted he expected better from himself. Despite leading 5-2 in the second set and securing an early break in the third, De Minaur was too passive, allowing Cobolli to dictate play.
“I think one of us went out to win the match, and the other went out not to lose the match,” the Australian said. “It breaks me inside. That’s the reality of it. Many, many hours get put into my craft, and countless years to kind of have moments like these. To not step up to the plate, it’s truly gut wrenching. You go through moments in your career, times where you feel that there are opportunities to be taken … to make it to the next level … and to fall short constantly, you start doubting yourself. The goals, the beliefs, the dreams that you have, they kind of start fading away.”
Cobolli celebrated enthusiastically after the match, marking another highlight in what has been a remarkable summer for him.
“Today I found the solution to play my tennis against his tennis,” he said. “That’s why I think I won. I beat him also on strategy. I played an amazing level.”
Following the match, Cobolli revealed that he and his family had no accommodation arranged, possibly not expecting to advance this far. The situation was resolved when an Italian family generously lent them their house.
