Alexander Zverev holds Taylor Fritz at net after blowing Wimbledon lead | Tennis | Sport

Alexander Zverev held Taylor Fritz at the net for a lengthy conversation after the German crashed out of Wimbledon in the fourth round to his American counterpart.

Fritz won 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-3 to book his place in the SW19 quarter-finals for the second time in his career, having done so also in 2022, achieving such a feat by wearing down his opponent who took to the court with heavy strapping on his knee.

And after blowing a two-set lead while in search of the first Grand Slam title of his career, Zverev appeared far from happy as he joined Fritz at the net to shake hands as a sign of respect.

He appeared far from happy with the American, keeping him in position for longer than is typical after tennis matches, but afterwards Fritz explained that the conversation centered around Zverev’s injury.

“It’s all good,” Fritz said in his on-court interview after a marathon victory over Zverev. “With his knee it felt like he wasn’t moving as well so I just wished him the best.”

John McEnroe and Nick Kyrgios also queried what was spoken between the two, as Fritz looked like he wanted to get away quickly and celebrate but had to continue their conversation.

BBC host Clare Balding claimed that Zverev looked “very upset” and “shellshocked” before walking off Centre Court, as McEnroe added: “I would like to know exactly what was being said here (at the net)… I don’t know if it was all ‘I love you’, but I could be wrong.”

Kyrgios then gave his view: “Look… it doesn’t look too bad, it’s definitely not what Taylor told someone earlier in the week, enjoy your flight home, I think they have a lot of respect, these guys have played each other a lot and Fritz knows that he is dealing with a bit of a knee thing.”

Regardless of their interaction, Fritz was over the moon to have set up a quarter-final with Lorenzo Musetti. “It was amazing to do that on Centre Court two sets down in front of this crowd,” he said. “It’s a dream.

“The thing was I still felt I was playing really well for being down two sets. I was just thinking it sucked to be playing this well and to lose in straights. So let’s take the third, I took it one at a time. I had that belief. It was just a couple of points here and there.”