Taylor Fritz wins resumed Wimbledon match; Jannik Sinner cruises - ESPN

WIMBLEDON, England — After dealing with his opponent's 153 mph serve — the fastest in Wimbledon history — and an overnight postponement, American Taylor Fritz returned Tuesday to win the fifth set and finish off a 6-7 (6), 6-7 (8), 6-4, 7-6 (6), 6-4 first-round win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Not only did Fritz, the 2024 US Open runner-up, need to turn things around after dropping the opening two sets, but he was two points from defeat on a half-dozen occasions in the fourth-set tiebreaker Monday night.

«A really crazy match,» the No. 5-seeded Fritz said Tuesday after wrapping up the victory at No. 1 Court. «I thought it was about to be all over last night in the fourth-set tiebreaker. But he came back on me in the first two tiebreakers, so I thought maybe I had one in me. I'm super happy to get through it.»

After Fritz forced the fifth set Monday at about 10:15 p.m., the match was suspended because there is a curfew at the All England Club that halts play at 11 p.m., and officials were concerned about finishing by that time.

It was clear Fritz preferred to continue, but it wasn't up to him.

«I mean, it's obviously not ideal,» the 27-year-old Californian said Tuesday. «I felt like if we weren't going to have time to finish the fifth set, then absolutely I think it makes sense not to play the fifth set. But we were having sets about as long as you can possibly play sets, and they were still in the time frame that we had last night to play the fifth.

»I obviously wanted to play it, but either way, I felt confident coming back today (and) getting it done, as well."

As it turned out, he needed only 35 minutes Tuesday to get the job done in a contest that featured 66 total aces — 37 by Mpetshi Perricard, 29 by Fritz.

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