ATP Tour

Fritz banishes demons to reach first Wimbledon SF

Taylor Fritz pulled through an intriguing encounter with Karen Khachanov to banish some old Wimbledon quarter-final demons on Tuesday afternoon.

The No. 5 player in the PIF ATP Rankings ousted Khachanov 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4) on No. 1 Court to reach his maiden Wimbledon semi-final. Having previously fallen to heartbreaking five-set quarter-final defeats against Rafael Nadal (2022) and Lorenzo Musetti (2024) at SW19, Fritz this time held his nerve to complete a hard-earned two-hour, 36-minute triumph.

“It’s an amazing feeling," said Fritz in his on-court interview. "Obviously having played the quarter-finals here twice and lost in five [sets] twice, I don’t think I could have taken another one. So I’m really happy I’m going to get to play the semis here.”

He's done it 🤩@Taylor_Fritz97 is SF BOUND @Wimbledon for the first time🙌#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/c2AmGYiqfp

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 8, 2025

With his first victory in three Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings against Khachanov, Fritz booked a last-four meeting with Carlos Alcaraz or Cameron Norrie. It will be the American’s second Grand Slam semi-final appearance, after he reached the championship match at last year’s US Open.

Fritz has now notched a Tour-leading 13 victories on grass this season. The 10-time tour-level champion remains No. 5 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings but is now within 15 points of No. 4 Jack Draper. In the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, Fritz has risen seven spots to seventh as a result of his Wimbledon run so far, meaning he now occupies one of the qualification spots for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals.

“I’m feeling great to get through it,” said Fritz. “I feel like the match was going so well for me for two sets. I’ve never had a match really just flip so quickly, so I’m really happy with how I came back in the fourth set and got it done. I think the momentum was definitely not going to have been on my side going into a fifth."

Having moved to a two-set lead without facing a break point, Fritz lost his momentum in a one-sided third set in which Khachanov reeled off the first five games. After his opponent sealed the set, Fritz took a medical timeout so the tournament doctor could reapply tape on his right foot, but Khachanov then continued his surge by breaking serve in the opening game of the fourth set.

Fritz then found a way to turn the tide, however, and he produced a classy comeback to ensure he avoided a repeat of his five-set battles with Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Gabriel Diallo from earlier in the tournament. The 27-year-old, who lifted ATP Tour grass titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne last month, reclaimed the break to level at 2-2 before sealing his win with a rock-solid tie-break showing.

“He definitely started playing a bit better, but I feel like I gave him a lot of hope by playing not the best game to start the third set for me,” said Fritz, when asked about his third-set collapse. “I’ve never really had a match change like that so drastically, where I felt so in control, playing great, serving great.

“I didn’t feel like my serve was in danger, I felt like I was putting all the pressure on his serve and then out of nowhere I just started making a tonne of mistakes. Before I felt like I couldn’t miss, and all of a sudden, I’m making a tonne of mistakes and he’s putting all the balls in play. I really just had to fight to get that break back in the fourth and just get the match back to neutral.”