Panicked Fritz caught off guard by knee issue in Zverev loss

LONDON, July 8 : Taylor Fritz said he was blindsided and briefly in a state of panic when a chronic right knee problem flared up early in his straight-sets Wimbledon quarter-final defeat by second seed Alexander Zverev on Wednesday.

Fritz arrived for the Court One encounter having beaten his German opponent in their previous seven clashes but was hampered by tendonitis and needed treatment at the start of the second set before going down 6-4 6-4 6-2.

"I feel like three games in the match, he was already up a break, but ... I started feeling my knee. I think I could have, still probably think I could have played a lot better through the issue," Fritz told reporters.

"I don't know what kind of difference it would have made in the match. He's going to be extremely tough to beat the way he's serving. He was aggressive with his forehand and his backhand as well. He hit the ball great. He played really well.

"It wasn't the match that I was expecting. I would have liked to feel 100 per cent and try to give him a match ... I don't know why I felt like that today."

The injury was a jolt for Fritz, who opted to rest for much of the clay season and arrived at the All England Club with his confidence in his body renewed after reaching the finals of Stuttgart and Halle.

FRITZ'S HOPES FADED FAST

The American's run in Halle included a semi-final win over Zverev, but any hopes of extending his dominance over the German faded fast after the opening few games.

"I was just panicking, 'what am I going to do?' I didn't expect it at all. The only signs I had were I had pain towards the end of my match with Alexander Bublik," Fritz added.

"I thought it's maybe not the best sign that I was feeling it after that match, because it wasn't super physical.