Taylor Fritz beats Alexander Zverev to reach Wimbledon quarters - ESPN

LONDON — Taylor Fritz turned things around after dropping the opening two sets to defeat two-time Grand Slam finalist Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-3 on Monday and reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

The 13th-seeded Fritz, a 26-year-old from California, equaled his career-best showing at a major tournament.

«It was amazing to do that on Centre Court [at] Wimbledon, two sets down, in front of this crowd,» said Fritz, who lost to 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals at the All England Club two years ago. «The thing was, I felt like I was still playing really well for being down two sets. I was just thinking it would suck to be playing this well and just lose in three straight, so let's take the third.… I had that belief.»

The match, played with the retractable Centre Court roof shut, was the 35th to go five sets at Wimbledon this year, tying the record for the most at any Slam event in the Open era, which began in 1968.

And Fritz's comeback is the 11th from a two-set deficit in this edition of the grass-court tournament, more than in any other year.

The fourth-seeded Zverev was the runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open last month. He also lost in the final of the 2020 US Open against Dominic Thiem.

The German entered Monday having won all nine sets he played at Wimbledon this year and held in all 41 of his service games. But Fritz broke him one time each in the third and fifth sets.

Zverev played with a gray sleeve on his left knee, which he hurt during a fall in his previous match.

When it ended, Fritz threw his head back and let out a yell, before meeting Zverev at the net for an extended chat.

«It felt like in the fifth set, he wasn't moving as well,» Fritz said. «So, I just