Fritz not on ESPN’s bottom line, but he’s in the Wimbledon semis

Taylor Fritz has made the Wimbledon semi-finals. But he can’t make ESPN’s bottom line.

Probably not a surprise since the sports network delights in big names, and the other three men who have advanced to the semis are as big as they come in the sport of tennis—Carlos Alcaraz, Janek Sinner, and Novak Djokovic.

Fritz, at 27, although hardly unknown, is not quite in the class of those other three, each of whom has won at least one grand slam, and in the case of the seemingly ageless Djokovic, 24 slams.

The matchups Friday in Centre Court will be Fritz against number two-ranked Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, who will be going for his third straight Wimbledon title, and the number one-ranked Sinner against Djokovic, who has seven Wimbledon victories to his credit.

If you’re excited by the presence of this group and what may result from the competition, you’re not alone. This is when the sport grabs even those who don’t know a volley from a rally, but do know the stars, who rally and volley—and win.

For the first time, Fritz got past the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, Tuesday, defeating Karen Khachanov of Russia, 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4). At last, an American male had made it this far since John Isner in 2018.

If you are wondering about the next step or two, the last American player to win the All England title was Pete Sampras in 2000.  

Djokovic, 38, defeated Italy’s Flavio Cobolli, 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. Not that Cobolli is unpopular, but the crowd was screaming wildly for the guy they call the Joker.

If Fritz seems like the odd man out, he’s unbothered. In fact, he’s more than satisfied, finally playing the way that had been both predicted and expected since he was a teenager in Southern California. 

When your mom, the former Kathy May, was a success and you took the California Interscholastic Federation crown, there is no way to enter the battle anonymously. So, Fritz had to deal with that sort of pressure as well as more than an occasional injury. He did have a breakthrough of sorts in 2024, reaching the final of the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows, but his opponent was Sinner, who showed no weakness or no mercy, winning in straight sets.

“Having played the quarterfinals here twice,” said Fritz about Wimbledon, “and lost in five twice, I don’t think I could have taken another one.”

Fritz, fifth in the world rankings, won’t have that worry.

He did have another worry when the skin on one foot was rubbed bare after a strip of tape was pulled away. Quick attention from the attending medical staff corrected that problem. Fritz had an explanation for how the match turned around after he breezed through the first two sets and seemingly locked up the win.

“I’ve never really had a match change like that so drastically,” said Fritz. “Where I felt so in control, playing great, serving great. I didn’t feel like my serve was in danger. “I felt like I couldn’t miss and then, out of nowhere, I just started making a ton of mistakes.” 

He fixed whatever was wrong. And make no mistake, Taylor Fritz is one of the last four men remaining in the 2025 Wimbledon singles and the only American.