The fourth round of Wimbledon turned out to be nothing more than a practice round for Taylor Fritz. He was playing sharply, but his opponent, Jordan Thompson, was injured. From the beginning of the match, it was obvious Thompson was not going to be able to compete at the level he wanted.
The Australian's legs were both wrapped as he was suffering from what appeared to be hamstring issues. His inability to move hurt him as much of Fritz's serve as anything else. Some credit should go to the American, however. Had he not been so technically brilliant with his serve, Thompson would not have been as hampered.
Fritz lost only one point on his serve through the first set and most of the second. After taking set one 6-1, Thompson retired after taking a medical timeout. He was down 0-3 and with little hope of winning another game.
Taylor Fritz defeats an injured Jordan Thompson in the fourth round at Wimbledon
Though Fritz landed only 52 percent of his first serves, he landed every one of his second serves and already had six aces through 12 games. He also had 20 winners against three unforced errors, mostly because Thompson could not run much.
The event was not a joyous one, primarily because one player was injured heading into the match and was doomed from the start. Fritz took the match 6-1 3-0 (retired).
Fritz will take the break. He managed to get through two five-set matches to begin his Wimbledon run, and as he went four sets against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the American had played a lot of tennis through three rounds. Winning his fourth set in just 47 minutes should help him in the quarterfinals.
He will face Karen Khachanov, who is friends with Fritz. The two played doubles together at Queens Club in 2024, and the two have similar games. Both need to make the most of their service games and be more technically perfect when returning. The match might come down to whose backhand is better.
Fritz has never beaten Khachanov in two meetings, though that fact is a bit misleading. The last time they faced one another was in 2020. Fritz has improved quite a bit since then.