Taylor Fritz has been in sublime form for the last month. It seems that exiting early at the French Open on clay didn’t really bother him much. The moment he ‘touched grass’, the World No.5 turned into a different player altogether. Proof? Last month, he ended up winning two titles in Stuttgart and then Eastbourne on the green surface. And now at Wimbledon, the American is fueling home fans’ expectations with a consistent performance. His sheer will and on-court domination have pushed him into the quarterfinal stage. But going forward, he will face a tough test on Tuesday, in Russia’s Karen Khachanov, who may hamper his dreams of lifting a maiden major trophy.

After besting Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s lethal, speedy serves, with one being 153 mph, setting the Wimbledon record, Fritz has been simply unstoppable. Despite being down in the first two sets, Fritz made a stunning recovery, winning the last three remaining sets in a phenomenal style. In the next encounter against Canada’s Gabriel Diallo, the 27-year-old went to play another cliffhanger battle lasting five sets. In the third round, he outlasted Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in four sets before getting the quarterfinal ticket. His fourth round opponent, Australia’s Jordan Thompson, was forced to retire midway due to injury, allowing the American to continue his campaign.

On the other hand, Khachanov’s path to the QF has been somewhat similar. After besting America’s Mackenzie McDonald in the first round in three straight sets, he had to put in a little extra. In the second round, Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki gave him a tough time. However, the Russian managed to win the five-setter eventually. The third round was no different against Portugal’s Nuno Borges. Khachanov won the first set, but Borges snatched the next two. The Russian then fought his way back into the encounter, winning fourth and fifth sets consecutively. During the fourth round, however, Khachanov cruised through Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak in straight sets to confirm a quarterfinal spot.

Speaking of their Wimbledon history, Fritz has made it to the QF stage twice before as well, in 2022 and 2024. Khachanov has done it, too, but only once, in 2021. But it’s their H2H record where he’s got an advantage. So far, they have met two times in ATP events, with the Russian snatching both the encounters. Currently, he has a 2-0 lead. Their last face-off took place five years ago during the 2020 ATP Cup. Back then, Khachanov emerged victorious with a score line of 3-6, 7-5, 6-1. But here comes a twist. Both their meetings have been on hard court. On Tuesday, they will play each other for the first time on grass where Fritz has been outstanding at the All England Club.

Fritz has the potential to take down Khachanov down on grass this time. While the latter may pose a threat, pushing the battle into a five-setter, the American is expected to earn his maiden Wimbledon semifinal ticket. With that, he may also keep the American dream alive for a Gentlemen’s trophy. Since last 25 years, after Pete Sampras’ title win in 2000, no American ATP player has been able to mirror this achievement.

Ex-pros draw Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner parallels to admire Taylor Fritz

After Taylor Fritz bested Fokina in the third round, former American players Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson couldn’t help but rave about the 27-year-old. He won the first two sets against Fokina but lost the third. Despite that, he managed to come back and snatched the fourth set to seal the match in no time.

Reacting to the result, Querrey began, “Fritzy beats Davidovich Fokina, I mean we saw that coming.” To this Johnson went on to compare Fritz to Alcaraz and Sinner saying, “I mean, you can argue Jannik and Carlos this way, but is there somebody better at wiping away a bad 10 minutes and regrouping than Taylor Fritz right now?”

Praising Fritz’s stupendous performance by not giving in to his nerves after losing the third set, Johnson continued, “He’s up two sets, serving for the match, cruising, gets broken, loses the third. A lot of guys would struggle, he just resets on the changeover and goes 6-1, see you later.” Hearing that, Querrey couldn’t help but agree. “Good point. Outside of Carlos, Jannik, like you said, he’s the next best at brushing off whatever’s going on and just refocusing.”

Fritz was very close to winning his first slam last year. During the 2024 US Open, he succeeded in reaching the summit clash. Unfortunately, World No.1 Jannik Sinner denied him that victory. Will the World No.5 make it happen this time at the All England Club while ending the 25-year-old drought of his home fans? Only time will tell.

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