For Taylor Fritz, Wimbledon turns into a long day and night triumph

Wimbledon goes on. And so does Taylor Fritz. If a bit wearily. But not a bit unhappily.

There is no sport quite like tennis, where there is a category called lucky losers, and no tournament quite like The Championships, which is the way Wimbledon is listed. 

Rankings and seedings may mean very little, as the current Wimbledon verifies. Top players in both the men’s and women’s brackets are getting beaten in what might be described as upsets, although really it is proof that, with rare exceptions, such as Carlos Alcaraz, Janik Sinner, and Aryna Sabalenka, anyone in the draw can defeat anyone else.

Meaning that while Fritz, America’s number one male player, should have breezed through his first two matches, he may have been fortunate just to have won both.  

And here’s where Wimbledon, the only of the four Grand Slam tournaments still played on nature’s green grass, becomes a large part of the story.  The summer days are long in Great Britain, but eventually the sun goes down.  

For decades, daily play at Wimbledon would end in darkness. Then, some sixteen years ago, after too many rain delays, a roof was constructed. Of course, lighting had to be installed. The predictable result was that even when the weather was fine, play would go on after dark, at least until the local curfew at 11 pm.

Which certainly had an effect on Fritz in his opening round match Monday against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France, after Fritz lost the first two sets. Fritz managed to win the third, and then it was decided to close the roof and use the lighting, and after a half-hour break, to continue under the roof and under the lights. That didn’t stop Taylor, but the curfew did.

And so he and Perricard came back Tuesday, Fritz then taking the fifth set. Taylor was again on court Wednesday, and again needed to survive an extended battle, this time with Italy’s Gabriel Diallo, that went five sets, Fritz winning 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3. That match required three hours and six minutes, and medical assistance for Fritz. He incurred a bloodied elbow after diving to reach a ball when he had a break point while trailing 3-2 in the fourth set.

“That’s an incredibly hard match,” Fritz said. “The fourth set that I lost, I really don’t think there’s much I did wrong at all.”

Not an easy three days for Fritz, but certainly more rewarding than for fellow American Francis Tiafoe, who was defeated Wednesday by Britain’s Cameron Norrie, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5.

No American man has won a Wimbledon singles title since Pete Sampras in 2000. Fritz will probably not be the next, but at least after these first two long victories, he’s still very much alive.

And, looking forward to getting a brief break, with no match scheduled on Thursday. 

“Tomorrow is going to be a very, very light hit. I think I’ve played plenty of tennis,” was Fritz’s post-round comment to the media. “I’m very due for a nice, relaxing day.”