Taylor Fritz had to think that the serves of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina were coming to him in slow motion in the American's third-round match against the Spaniard. After his two matches at Wimbledon 2025 were against huge servers, Davidovich Fokina offered a slower way of life.
That didn't mean the match was any easier for the American. The first two sets might look as if Fritz won them easily, as he led 6-4 6-3, but those sets took nearly two hours to play. Unlike the quick points he played against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round and Gabriel Diallo in the second round, Davidovich Fokina somehow made a shorter match last longer.
This was partly because the Spaniard kept points alive much more than Fritz's first two opponents. His service game was not as easy, and Davidovich Fokina's slower serve meant the Spaniard could get into a defensive position quickly.
Taylor Fritz defeats Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round at Wimbledon
The match was well played at times, but certainly sluggishly played by Fritz. The crowd did not appear to be much into what was going on early, either. More people were sitting on their hands than standing and cheering. This might have been because of the pace of play or simply because the outcome seemed certain, even while the games at times remained close.
The tone was set early. The second game of the match lasted nearly 10 minutes. Multiple games lasted longer than they should have. Not because the players were making constant errors, but because each player had a difficult time putting the other away. It was the upside down of the American's first two matches at Wimbledon.
Still, he was barely surviving a feisty opponent who was much better on clay and played on the grass of Wimbledon as if it were the French Open. That is meant as no disrespect, it was simply the way Davidovich Fokina was forced to play to have a chance to win.
The deciding factor of the match seemed to come with Fritz leading 2-1 and Davidovich Fokina serving. At break point, the Spaniard rolled in a serve that the American crushed for a winner. Davidovich Fokina was already facing long odds to come back and win after the first two sets, but going down a break in the third set would have appeared to be too much.
Not quite.
Fritz finished with far more winners than unforced errors, but while he had double-digit aces, his serve never seemed dominant. In fact, when he had a chance to finish off the match leading 5-3, Davidovich Fokina got his first break of the match and then held to even the set. At least, this was enough to wake up the crowd a bit as the match was tightening.
The Spaniard then surprised most watching by winning the third set tie-break as Fritz began mishitting some forehands uncharacteristically. It was difficult to tell whether he had dipped in form or was simply mentally tired from his first two matches at the grass-court major.
This made the fourth set all the more shocking. Davidovich Fokina had the momentum after shockingly taking the third set, but he was suddenly flat in set four and Fritz finally began serving like Taylor Fritz. He got two breaks off the Spaniard early in the set and led 4-1. Any drama in the match appeared done by this point. To finish off the match, Fritz got his third break of the set.
The American won the match 6-4 6-4 6-7(5) 6-1.
In the fourth round, Fritz will play the winner of the match between Luciano Darderi and Jordan Thompson. The American will be the favorite entering the match. Should he get past the fourth round, he would also be favored over any potential quarterfinal opponent as well.