WIMBLEDON/WASHINGTON, July 11, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)
Taylor Fritz has the unenviable task of facing two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon men’s singles semifinals Friday afternoon. The American No. 1 is just glad he doesn’t have to play the World No. 2 on clay, which would be an “absolute nightmare.”
If grass can be a great equalizer in tennis, then it might give Fritz an opportunity to pull off a big upset on Centre Court and advance him to his second career Grand Slam final, following his run at the US Open last year – and to be a first-time finalist at the Wimbledon Championships.
Should Fritz, 27, beat Alcaraz, he would become the first American man to reach the Wimbledon final since Andy Roddick in 2009. He’s 0-2 lifetime against the 22-year-old Spaniard, having lost twice on hard courts at Miami and the Laver Cup in Berlin. Their meeting on Friday will be the first meeting between a pair of Top-5 men’s players during the British fortnight.
Soaking it all in #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/lpnqhwgSsy
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2025
Meanwhile, Alcaraz is bidding to reach a third consecutive Wimbledon final and become the 10th man in the Open Era to accomplish that feat. He is also aiming to reach his sixth Grand Slam final overall, and to extend an 11-match winning streak against American players at tour-level that dates back to the summer of 2023.
“Grass is very much so an equalizer. It can be an equalizer,” Fritz said after defeating No. 17 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia, 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4), in two hours and 36 minutes on No.1 Court in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday. At 4-all in the fourth-set tie-break, Fritz won the final four points of the match. He’s finished his quarterfinal victory with 47 winners – including 16 aces – and won 17 of 24 points at the net. He converted three of eight break points and outpointed Khachanov 119-105.
“So trust in how I’m playing. I truly know the way that I played the first two sets today, there’s no much any opponent on the other side can do.”
Hear him roar @Taylor_Fritz97 | @Wimbledon | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/lmqElkk6LR
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 8, 2025
The Fritz-Alcaraz semifinal begins play on Centre Court Friday at 1:30 p.m. BST (2:30 p.m. CET, 8:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Daylight Time), followed by the second semifinal between No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner and No. 6 Novak Djokovic. The semifinal winners will play Sunday afternoon in the championship final.
Fritz’s path to the last four – he’s the first active U.S. man to reach a major semifinal on a non-hard court surface – has included back-to-back three-hour-plus five-set thrillers, with wins over No. 36 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France and No. 40 Gabriel Diallo of Canada. He needed four sets to beat No. 26 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain. Then, Fritz got a break and won by retirement over No. 44 Jordan Thompson of Australia after 41 minutes, before advancing over Khachanov.
“The first couple of rounds, I was super happy with how I was playing from the baseline,” Fritz said Tuesday. “I thought I could actually serve all my spots and serve a bit better. I felt like the last two matches, I think I started to dial it in a bit more. … I just accept that whatever’s going on in a match, that’s what I have and I’m not going to get frustrated.
“Being real with what’s working, what’s not working, you know, it’s good for me to keep improving.”
Coming into Wimbledon, Fritz won back-to-back grass-court titles at Stuttgart and Eastbourne. He’s 13-1 on grass this summer, which leads the ATP Tour, with the only blemish being a round of 32 loss to Corentin Moutet of France at Queen’s Club in between his title runs in Stuttgart and Eastbourne.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Fritz said after earning his first Wimbledon quarterfinal victory. “Obviously having played the quarterfinals 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.”
“I’m really happy with how I’ve turned my career around.”
After losing in the #Wimbledon QF twice, Taylor Fritz is now in his first semi-final at SW19 pic.twitter.com/x5OZbeNrGu
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2025
Around the All England Club
While the men’s single semifinals occupy Centre Court on Friday, the women’s doubles semifinals will take place across the All England Club grounds on No. 1 Court.
First up, No. 8 seeds Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elise Mertens of Belgium will face unseeded Olivia Gadecki of Australia and Desirae Krawczyk of the United States. Mertens won the Wimbledon women’s doubles title in 2021 with Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan and twice was runner-up in the next two years 2022-23, with Zhang Shuai and Storm Hunter.
In the second semifinal, Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, seeded fourth, will face defending champions and No. 1 seeds Katerina Siniakova of Czechia and Taylor Townsend of the United States.
On Thursday, Siniakova teamed with Sem Verbeek of the Netherlands to win the Wimbledon mixed doubles title. Siniakova has won the Wimbledon women’s doubles title three times – twice with Barbora Krejcikova (2018, 2022) and with Townsend last year.
Friday’s Wimbledon order of play
By the numbers
All four of the men’s singles semifinalists – No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner, No. 2 seed and two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, seven-time Wimbledon champion and No. 6 seed Novak Djokovic and No. 5 seed Taylor Fritz – have reached at least one Grand Slam final. They are among the 14 active men’s players to have do so. If Fritz wins his semifinal against Alcaraz, he will become the 10th active player to reach multiple Grand Slam men’s singles finals.
All eyes on the Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/hhtQ8lB2oD
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2025
“Quotable …”
“It’s very special. It means a lot, and we have so much fun on the court. Sem, thank you for playing with me. The atmosphere on Centre Court is always amazing and I’m so happy I could be here again.”
– Katerina Siniakova of Czechia, during her trophy ceremony speech after winning the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with first-time partner Sem Verbeek of the Netherlands.
“It’s been an honor and a pleasure to compete next to such a great doubles legend. Thanks for making this a Thursday I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
– Sem Verbeek of the Netherlands, during his trophy ceremony speech that followed Siniakova’s.
Katerina Siniakova and Sem Verbeek, the Mixed Doubles Champions of 2025 #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/cWtDZedpJM
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2025
