Fritz Advances to Wimbledon Quarterfinals as Thompson Retires Injured

London, England — American tennis player Taylor Fritz advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Sunday after his opponent, Australia’s Jordan Thompson, retired due to injury while trailing 6-1, 3-0. The match lasted just 41 minutes.

This marks the third time in four years that Fritz has reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals. His advancement also confirms that at least one American man has made the quarterfinals in five consecutive majors, the longest stretch for the U.S. men’s side since a streak from the 2002 U.S. Open to the 2004 Australian Open.

Thompson, who entered the match facing back and leg issues, struggled to move effectively. He called for a medical timeout in the second set and eventually stopped playing after attempting to continue for a few more points. “Just got significantly worse today,” Thompson said. “Just played a lot of tennis on a body that shouldn’t have been, and it just took its toll.”

Fritz, the No. 5 seed, expressed disappointment about the way the match ended. “It’s obviously not the way that I want to go through,” Fritz said, acknowledging Thompson’s situation. “It’s just sad. Respect to him for coming out. His body’s not right.”

Fritz remains one of only two American men in the singles draw after his teammate, Frances Tiafoe, advanced with a straight-sets victory on Saturday. The last American men to reach the Wimbledon semifinals were Andy Roddick in 2017 and Sam Querrey in 2018.

Fritz’s next challenge comes against Russian 17th seed Karen Khachanov, who advanced by defeating Kamil Majchrzak 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 earlier on Sunday. Khachanov expressed confidence in his performance, noting a significant gap in winners compared to unforced errors during his match.

This season has been strong for Fritz, boasting a record of 12-1 on grass, including titles at Stuttgart and Eastbourne. His 12 tour-level grass match wins are the most by any American man since Pete Sampras in 1999. The excitement builds as Fritz looks to continue his impressive run at Wimbledon.