Alexander Zverev finally found the answer to one of the biggest puzzles of his career. After seven successive defeats to Taylor Fritz, the German second seed produced one of his cleanest performances in recent memory, dismantling the American 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday, July 8, to reach his maiden Wimbledon semi-final.
Fresh off his French Open triumph, Zverev continued his pursuit of back-to-back Grand Slam titles by ending a losing streak that had stretched over two years against Fritz, including defeat to the American at the All England Club in 2024.
The victory also made Zverev only the fifth German man in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals, joining Boris Becker, Michael Stich, Rainer Schuettler and Tommy Haas.
“It sounds great. I hope to play two more matches here, so we’ll see how it goes, but for now I’m extremely happy to be in the semi-finals, especially after beating Taylor, who I hadn’t won against in more than two years,” Zverev said after the match.
“He’s been beating me for two years straight. I played a fantastic match.”
ZVEREV STEAMROLLS FRITZ
The contest never quite reached the drama many had expected. Zverev broke early in the opening set and, despite Fritz threatening to claw his way back in the 10th game, held his nerve to close it out 6-4. The German let out a roar of relief after surviving the late pressure, knowing how much recent history had favoured his opponent.
The second set swung further in Zverev’s favour after Fritz required a medical timeout on his right knee early in the set. While the American continued, he struggled to match Zverev’s consistency from the baseline as the German seized another crucial break before comfortably moving two sets ahead.
Fritz’s resistance faded completely in the third.
Zverev produced one of the shots of the afternoon with a stunning backhand winner to secure a double break at 4-1 before serving out the match with minimal fuss. The victory marked his 12th Grand Slam semi-final overall, but remarkably his first at Wimbledon.
“I knew I had to play an almost perfect match to have a chance, and I feel like I did that today,” Zverev said.
“The first game on my serve, I had three break points against me and I knew it was going to be difficult. It’s always in the back of your mind when you haven’t beaten someone for more than two years.”
ZVEREV vs FERY IN SEMIS
Zverev will now face Britain’s Arthur Fery, whose fairytale run continued with a straight-sets victory over Flavio Cobolli earlier in the day.
The German was quick to acknowledge the challenge awaiting him, joking that the home crowd would have little reason to support anyone else.
“You guys can all be for Fery,” Zverev laughed. “It’s totally fine. I understand.
“For him, it’s a ‘Fery-tale’ story. You see what I did there? Very clever. But I have to trust myself and trust my tennis.
“Hopefully I can show a good performance and then we’ll see what happens.”
For the first time in his career, Zverev has broken through at Wimbledon. To lift the trophy, however, he will have to spoil Britain’s biggest tennis story of the fortnight.
– Ends
