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Taylor Fritz defeated Karen Khachanov in four sets in the men’s quarterfinal at Wimbledon on Tuesday to become the first male American tennis player to make the semifinals at Wimbledon since 2018.
John Isner was the last American to reach the semifinals of the grass-court tournament.
Fritz, 27, won 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4). The American dominated the first two sets as he took 40 of his 47 service points and never faced a break in that span.
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Taylor Fritz celebrates winning the men’s singles quarter final match against Karen Khachanov at the Wimbledon in London, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
However, in the third set, the match flipped as Khachanov won eight of the next nine games. Fritz said he had never seen a match turn so quickly on him.
“I mean he definitely started playing a bit better, but I feel like I gave him a lot of hope with not the best game to start the third set for me. But I’ve never really had a match change like that so drastically where I felt so in control: serving great, playing great, I didn’t feel like my serve was in danger,” Fritz said after the match on the court.
“I felt like I was putting a lot of pressure on his serve and then out of nowhere I feel like I started making a ton of mistakes. Before, I felt like I couldn’t miss and then, all of the sudden, I’m making a ton of mistakes. He’s putting a lot of balls in play, so I really had to fight to get that break back in the fourth and kind of get the match back to neutral.”
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Taylor Fritz plays a return to Karen Khachanov at Wimbledon in London, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Fritz fell behind 2-0 in the fourth set, but rallied back to win the set in a tiebreak. The No. 5 ranked player in the world said it feels “great” to get through it.
“I’m feeling great to get through it. I feel like the match was going so well for me two sets. I’ve never had a match really just flip so quickly. I’m really happy with how I kinda came back in the fourth set and got it done. I think momentum was definitely not going be on my side going into a fifth (set),” Fritz said.
Fritz came into the match with a 1-4 record in major quarterfinals, including going 0-2 at Wimbledon. The 27-year-old was the runner-up at the U.S. Open last year.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Fritz said of making his first Wimbledon semifinal.
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Taylor Fritz celebrates winning the men’s singles quarter final at Wimbledon in London, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
“Obviously, having played the quarterfinals here twice and having lost in five twice, I don’t think I could have taken another one, so I’m happy. I’m really happy I’m going to get to play the semis here.”
Khachanov fell to 0-11 in Grand Slam matches against opponents ranked in the top five with the loss.
Fritz will either face two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain or unseeded Cam Norrie of Britain for a berth in the final on Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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