When it finally came time to play, Paul was relieved. He defeated Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets – and then another wait began. 27-year-old Paul, ranked 12th, played his role in making it to the quarter-finals. He had to wait another day for his good friend Taylor Fritz, 26, to do his part in ending a long dry spell for the Americans.
No. 13 Fritz defeated No. 4 Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-7 (7-4), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 on Monday, ensuring that many American men will reach the 2000 Play in the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time since Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and John-Michael Gambill made the last eight. Fritz and Paul were joined by surprise women’s quarterfinalist, No. 19 seed Emma Navarro, as the final Americans.
Fritz came back from two sets down to record one of the most impressive Grand Slam wins of his career against Zverev, who reached the French Open final last month. The big-hitting German had not lost a set in the first three rounds of Wimbledon and was serving so well that he did not drop a single service game. He never faced a break point after the first round.
Zverev won the first two sets easily. But Fritz, who had won a warmup tournament on grass before Wimbledon, felt he was playing too well to concede defeat. He backed up against Zverev’s serve and gave himself more time to place returns where he wanted.
Fritz eventually broke Zverev in the third set – only once. But in a match that came down to big serves and low points, it was enough to gain a foothold.
“Once we got into the rallies,” Fritz said, “I felt like I was playing as well as I could.”
Zverev did not feel the same way about his performance. The 27-year-old was badly injured in his third-round match against Cameron Norrie, suffering a bone bruise and a torn capsule in his left knee. He was wearing a protective sleeve during Monday’s match.
“I was on one leg today,” Zverev said. “He is playing very well. …but I also know that the match was not of a high standard. I mean, it wasn’t a particularly great tennis match. …There weren’t really long rallies, because I couldn’t play long rallies.”
Zverev had to air another complaint on the net after the match, when he informed Fritz that he felt that some spectators in his box were being insultingly loud, especially given that Zverev was having trouble moving. Was.
“Me and Taylor, we grew up together playing with each other since juniors. I think it was very clear that I was not 100 percent today, OK?” Zverev said when asked about the exchange. “…Their team is extremely respectful. I think their coach, their physio, their The other coaches are also very respectable, there are some other people who are probably not from the tennis world who are watching every single match. Okay. No controversy.”
Fritz’s win ended an individual drought: Monday was his first win over Zverev in three attempts at a Grand Slam. They had met twice before at Wimbledon.
The Californian advanced to face No. 25 seed Lorenzo Musetti, one of two Italians left in the last eight along with top seed Jannik Sinner. Paul, who also won a grass-court tournament before Wimbledon, faces a marquee matchup against third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz for Court No. 1 on Tuesday.
Paul served 11 aces in his win over Bautista Agut on Sunday and is hoping the first-punch tennis will help him as much as it did for Fritz on Monday.
“Serving and giving back is huge for me. We both play a very aggressive style of tennis,” Paul said of Alcaraz. “He is playing very well and very aggressive. It’s fun for people to watch. “Honestly, it’s fun to play against.”
No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic advanced to another fourth-round match on Monday; He defeated No. 15 Holger Roon 6–3, 6–4, 6–2 to reach his 60th Grand Slam quarterfinal. On Wednesday, Djokovic will face No. 9 Alex de Minaur, who defeated Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
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