Fritz wins at Wimbledon after an epic battle; Zverev falls in the first round.

Taylor Fritz Comes Back and Advances at Wimbledon After an Epic Match

WIMBLEDON, England – American tennis player Taylor Fritz secured a crucial victory in the first round of Wimbledon, overcoming Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in a match that extended to the fifth set. After facing a 153 mph serve, the fastest in Wimbledon history, and an overnight interruption, Fritz demonstrated his determination by winning the final set and closing the match with a score of 6-7 (6), 6-7 (8), 6-4, 7-6 (6), 6-4. The 2024 US Open runner-up, Fritz, had to come back after losing the first two sets. In addition, he was two points away from defeat on several occasions during the fourth set tiebreak on Monday night.

“It was a really crazy match,” Fritz said after securing the victory on Court No. 1. “I thought it would all be over last night in the fourth set tiebreak. But he came back on me in the first two tiebreaks, so I thought maybe I had one in me. I’m super happy to have gotten through it.”

Taylor Fritz

The match was suspended on Monday around 10:15 p.m. due to the All England Club’s curfew, which stops play at 11 p.m. Fritz expressed his opinion on the interruption: “Obviously it’s not ideal. I felt that if we weren’t going to have time to finish the fifth set, then I think it makes sense not to play the fifth set. But we had sets as long as you can play, and we were still within the time frame we had last night to play the fifth. Obviously I wanted to play it, but either way, I felt confident coming back today and finishing it.”

After Monday’s match was postponed due to Wimbledon’s curfew, American Taylor Fritz, seeded number 5, returned on Tuesday to win the fifth set against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in just 35 minutes.

Alexander Zverev, Seeded Number 3, Surprised in the First Round

Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev, seeded number 3, suffered the most shocking defeat, falling to Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in a marathon five-set match: 7-6 (3), 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4. This defeat marks the first time Zverev has lost in the first round of a Grand Slam since Wimbledon 2019.

Other Notable Results at Wimbledon

In other matches, Jannik Sinner, the top seed, began his Wimbledon campaign with a victory over Luca Nardi with a score of 6-4, 6-3, 6-0. Sinner, who is seeking his first Wimbledon title, will face Aleksandar Vukic of Australia in the second round. Novak Djokovic, seed number 6, also advanced by defeating Frenchman Alexandre Muller with a score of 6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-2. Djokovic will face Briton Dan Evans in the next round. Jack Draper, seeded number 4, advanced to the second round after his opponent, Sebastian Baez, retired due to injury. Ben Shelton, seeded number 10, defeated Australian Alex Bolt with a 6-4, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (4) victory. Tommy Paul, seeded number 13, defeated the British player Johannus Monday with a score of 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. However, Alex Michelsen, seeded number 30, was eliminated after losing to Miomir Kecmanovic. Lorenzo Musetti was defeated by Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili with a score of 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. Alexander Bublik also suffered a defeat against the Spaniard Jaume Munar with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2.