Fritz reaches maiden Wimbledon semi-final with victory over Khachanov
The American came through 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) to reach a first last-four berth at SW19. He’ll face Cameron Norrie or Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals
Taylor Fritz, Wimbledon, 2025 © Chryslène Caillaud / Psnewz
Taylor Fritz reached his first Wimbledon semi-final courtesy of a hard-fought victory over Karen Khachanov, defeating the Russian 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) on a sun-soaked Court One.
This is a significant breakthrough for the American, who has twice lost at the last-eight stage in tight five-set matches.
The threat of yet another marathon encounter hung over the fourth set, but this time Fritz made sure the door was slammed shut at that juncture with an impressively clinical tiebreak. His reward is a spot in a maiden semi-final at SW19 and just his second at a Grand Slam, having reached the final in New York last season.
A single break without reply in each of the first two sets moved Fritz into a deserved two-set lead. However, struggles with a foot issue near the start of the third prompted concerned looks among his team as doubts around the world No 5’s ability to maintain his earlier level rippled around the spectators on Court One.
But after dropping the third set in worryingly heavy fashion, with Khachanov breaking twice en route to a comfortable 6-1 win, Fritz was able to regroup impressively in the fourth.
Taking care of his service games with his trademark power and precision on delivery, Fritz erased an early break in the fourth set for his opponent before both players held serve for the remainder.
In the resulting breaker, a 4-1 lead for Fritz was wiped out by Khachanov, before the American took the final three points to surge to a milestone win.
Fritz fulfils long-held Wimbledon promise
With a potent serve and powerful, flat groundstrokes, Fritz has long been touted for success at the season’s only grass-court Grand Slam.
His game is beautifully suited to this surface, which is evident in his eye-catching results at other grass-court events.
The American is a four-time champion at Eastbourne – one of Wimbledon’s more prestigious warm-up tournaments – defending his title again this year having already claimed a title on the grass courts of Stuttgart a couple of weeks earlier.
“I’m feeling great. The match was going so well for me for two sets. I’ve never had a match flip so quickly, so I’m happy with how I came back. Momentum was not going to be on my side going into a fifth set,” he said in his on-court interview following victory.
“He definitely started playing a bit better. I gave him a lot of hope with not the best game to start the third set. I’ve never had a match change so drastically where I felt so in control, serving great, putting pressure on his serve, and then I started making a ton of mistakes.
“I felt I couldn’t miss and then I started making a ton of mistakes. I had to fight to get that break back in the fourth and get the match back to neutral.”
The fifth seed will go on to face either home hope Cameron Norrie or two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz for a coveted place in the final of Wimbledon 2025.
