Alexander Zverev said he was “on one leg today” after Taylor Fritz mounted a stirring comeback from two sets down to dump the fourth seed out of Wimbledon.
Zverev appeared to be cruising towards his first quarter-final at the All England Club before an inspired Fritz turned the match around, winning 4-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3. The American 13th seed’s break in the third set was the first time big-serving Zverev had been broken in the entire tournament.
Fritz then won the fourth-set tie-break to level the match before breaking again early in the decider.
“It was amazing to do that on Centre Court, two sets down in front of this crowd. It’s a dream,” he said.
“The thing was I still felt I was playing really well for being down two sets. I was just thinking it sucked to be playing this well and to lose in straights. “So let’s take the third, I took it one at a time. I had that belief. It was just a couple of points here and there.”