Wimbledon: Taylor Fritz ends U.S. men major quarterfinal drought; Nick Kyrgios escapes

Taylor Fritz became the first U.S. man to make a major quarterfinal since the January 2020 Australian Open, reaching the last eight at Wimbledon and setting up a possible matchup with Rafael Nadal.

Fritz, the No. 11 seed, dispatched 99th-ranked Australian qualifier Jason Kubler 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 in the fourth round on Monday to reach his first major quarterfinal.

Nadal plays No. 21 seed Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands later Monday.

Fritz, 24, beat Nadal in the Indian Wells final in March, marking the biggest tournament title for a U.S. man in more than a decade.

“I’ve kind of been in these moments before, Indian Wells semifinal, Indian Wells final. I’d say probably it feels about the same as like a Slam quarterfinal,” said Fritz, who hasn’t faced a top-50 player through four rounds. “It makes the occasion bigger if I am playing Nadal.”

After a French Open second round loss, Fritz lost his opening matches in consecutive grass-court tournaments to start June and dealt with right knee tendinitis.

“It was a low point,” he said. “I kept telling myself that I’ll find my tennis.”

He did, taking the title in Eastbourne the week before Wimbledon. Now he’s on an eight-match win streak and hasn’t dropped a set at Wimbledon.

WIMBLEDON DRAWS: Women | Men

Minutes before Fritz advanced, Australian Nick Kyrgios powered through a right shoulder injury, outlasting American Brandon Nakashima 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-2.

“It wasn’t anywhere near my best performance,” said Kyrgios, who took a medical timeout for the shoulder in the third set, when he received treatments during multiple changeovers. “I need a glass of wine for sure tonight.”

Asked about the shoulder, Kyrgios said he took painkillers and chalked it up to a lot of recent