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* Fritz lost quarter-final in straight sets* American affected by knee tendonitis early* Injury forced him to rest in clay swing  Taylor Fritz said he was blindsided and briefly in a state of panic when a ‌chronic right knee problem flared up early in his straight-sets Wimbledon quarter-final ​defeat by second seed Alexander Zverev ‌on Wednesday.Fritz arrived for the Court One encounter having beaten his German ‌opponent in their ⁠previous seven clashes ‌but was hampered by tendonitis and needed ‌treatment at the start of the second set before going down 6-4 6-4 6-2."I feel ⁠like three games in the match, he was already up a break, but ... I started feeling my knee. I think I could have, still probably think I could have played a lot better through the issue," Fritz told reporters."I don't know what kind of difference it would have made in the match. He's going to be extremely tough to beat the way he's serving. He was aggressive with his forehand and ​his backhand as well. He hit the ball great. He played really well."It wasn't the match that I was expecting. I would have liked to feel 100% and try to give him ‌a match ... I don't know why ⁠I felt like that ​today."The injury was a jolt for Fritz, who opted to rest for ​much of the clay season and arrived at the All England Club with his confidence in his body renewed after reaching the finals of Stuttgart and Halle.FRITZ'S HOPES FADED FASTThe American's run in Halle included a semi-final win over Zverev, but any hopes of extending his dominance over the German faded fast after the opening few games."I was just panicking, 'what am I going to do?' I didn't expect it at all. The only signs I had were I had pain towards the end of my match with Alexander Bublik," Fritz added."I thought it's maybe not the best ‌sign that I was feeling it ‌after that match, because it wasn't ⁠super physical. Typically it's how tendonitis is. It gets irritated sometimes. You give it a ⁠little bit of a rest, and ⁠then it feels better."I expected, after a light day yesterday to feel fine today. I felt fine, felt really good in my warm-up actually. Then, I have no answers as to why three games in it was like that."Zverev now faces Arthur Fery in the semi-finals and Fritz believes the plucky British wildcard will have his work cut out despite playing ​in front of a partisan Centre Court crowd."I do think Zverev is going to be incredibly tough to beat just with how well he's serving," Fritz added."That's not something that I feel really changes from day to day with him. I feel like you can expect that he's going to show up and serve at least 70% first serves, bombs. He's playing with a lot of confidence."We'll see if the crowd, playing someone that he's a big favourite over ... we'll see if that can cause any kind of an ‌issue. Yeah, he's playing with ​a lot of confidence and he's playing really well. It's going to be an interesting one." 

* Anisimova battles past Kenin into round three* Big-serving Fritz brushes aside compatriot Kypson* Zverev advances in quest for back-to-back majors* Holder Swiatek downs former number one Pliskova  Amanda Anisimova survived an almighty scare against compatriot Sofia Kenin on Thursday to join a wave ‌of American women marching into the third round of Wimbledon, while Taylor Fritz ensured the ​Stars and Stripes kept fluttering in ‌the men's draw.Twelve months after her 6-0 6-0 humbling by Iga Swiatek in the ‌title clash, Anisimova was ⁠on the verge of ‌another painful defeat after being dragged to three ‌sets by former Australian Open champion Kenin but she came through 6-2 4-6 7-6(10-3).The sixth seed's reward for ⁠a battling victory was a blockbuster Saturday showdown with another Grand Slam winner in Madison Keys, with the duo meeting as their country marks the 250th anniversary of its independence.Anisimova admitted there were "really awful" moments in her match and she was bailed out by her huge serve, after she fired down 20 aces."I never thought I'd say this, but thank you to my serve, I'm not a good server at all but after today, I can say that I am," a beaming Anisimova said on ​court."I'm really happy with my performance, especially with the end. Shout out to Sofia, she's such a good opponent and a real fighter ... I was down and told myself to keep fighting."I tried to bring myself back to the ‌present moment. I try to remind ⁠myself - have fun, you're playing ​at Wimbledon. These are the matches I train for, the tough ones, the fun ​ones."FRITZ EMERGING AS GENUINE CONTENDERFritz had an enjoyable outing in his own all-American clash on Court Two and the 2025 semi-finalist, a genuine contender on grass with his huge serve, advanced with a 6-2 6-2 7-5 victory over Patrick Kypson.The sixth seed joined U.S. colleagues Marcos Giron and Zachary Svajda in advancing, with Michael Zheng, Tommy Paul and Jenson Brooksby all going through on Wednesday.Giron, Svajda and Zheng face big tests in the next round when they play French Open champion Alexander Zverev, fifth seed Alex de Minaur and third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime but Brooksby has the unenviable task of trying to topple Jannik Sinner.Zverev continued his bid for a second straight Grand Slam trophy by beating ‌unseeded Frenchman Valentin Royer 6-1 6-3 7-6(3) ‌while De Minuar dispatched another Frenchman in ⁠Adrian Mannarino with a 6-3 6-2 6-2 win.Victories for Ashlyn Krueger and Emma Navarro meant eight American women ⁠advanced to the third round along with ⁠Iva Jovic, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Claire Liu.RYBAKINA THROUGH WITH MINIMUM FUSSIt was the end of the road for Caty McNally, however, as she ran into a roadblock in the form of 2022 champion Elena Rybakina and went down 6-1 6-2.Keys progressed with a 6-1 6-4 win over local hope Katie Swan, who could not take advantage of the high-profile support in the Court One stands where Kate, Britain's Princess of Wales, and ​tennis royal Andy Murray were sat.Arthur Fery was also watched by Kate in his early games against Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen on Court 18, and the 23-year-old wildcard went on to win 5-7 7-6(3) 6-3 6-3 on a sun-soaked morning at the All England Club.She was gone by the time another British wildcard Jacob Fearnley fought for nearly three hours but succumbed eventually to Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-4 7-6(3) 6-4.Even as media speculation swirled about Serena Williams' participation in the women's doubles event alongside her sister Venus after a knee injury, her singles conqueror Maya Joint fell 3-6 6-2 6-0 to Alexandra Eala of the Philippines.Eala will ‌now prepare for defending ​champion Iga Swiatek, who cleared a potentially dangerous hurdle with ease as she beat former world number one Karolina Pliskova 6-1 6-3. 

Taylor Fritz came from a set down on Saturday to see off French Open champion Alexander Zverev 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-5 and book his place in the ATP final on the grass in Halle.It continues a remarkable run for the American who has now won his past seven meetings against the world No.3 and top seed. He leads their head-to-head 10-5.In Sunday's final, Fritz will be aiming for an 11th career title on the tour, and a sixth on grass, when he faces Frances Tiafoe after his compatriot beat German wildcard Daniel Altmaier 6-1, 6-3.After making the better start by breaking to lead 3-1, Zverev then ran into difficulties in the heat and had to stop at 4-3 (40/40) on Fritz's serve, leaving the court for a medical timeout.After a brief interruption of a few minutes, Zverev found the energy to take the opening set in a tie-break.Hampered and weakened by the heat, he dropped his serve at the end of the second set, giving Fritz the chance to serve to level the match at one set all -- an opportunity the American seized. PATTERN REPEATED IN SECOND SETThat pattern repeated in the deciding set, with Fritz breaking Zverev before a possible tie-break to close out the match.The 28-year-old Fritz will play the 22nd ATP final of his career and his third this season, although he is still chasing a first title in 2026.Fritz's last three trophies have all come on grass, his favourite surface -- at Eastbourne and Stuttgart in 2025, and at Eastbourne in 2024. Last year, he reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon.World number 26 Tiafoe's semi-final success means the pair will become Halle's first American finalists since Mardy Fish in 2004."I thought it was really good today," former US Open semi-finalist Tiafoe said."It could have been a different match when I played a loose game at 3-2 in the second set, but I got a hold there and kept the momentum," the 28-year-old added. 

Poland exacted revenge for their loss to the United States in last year's final, beating the defending champions in their last-four tie at the United Cup to set up a title clash with Switzerland, who beat ‌Belgium in their semi-final Saturday.Hubert Hurkacz stunned world number nine Taylor Fritz in ‌the men's singles to give Poland ‍the lead, before Coco Gauff beat Iga Swiatek to level the tie. But Poland prevailed in the mixed doubles decider, where ⁠Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski beat Gauff ⁠and Christian Harrison.Hurkacz, ranked 83rd in the world, avenged his loss to Fritz in last year's final ‍in a 7-6(1) 7-6(2) win, after taking the lead in both tiebreaks with well-placed backhand passing shots to beat his second top-10 ranked opponent this week."Definitely pleasantly surprised... in seven months, (this is) my first tournament. So coming back from such a long period the first time in my life, you never know what to expect," said Hurkacz, who also beatworld number three Alexander Zverev on Monday when he returned from an injury layoff.World number four Gauff got the U.S. back in the ‌game, beating Swiatek 6-4 6-2, as the American's powerful shots forced the world number two to stay near the baseline and make mistakes with her backhand returns.Gauff, however, could not complete her team's comeback, as Kawa and Zielinski ‍won 7-6(5) 7-6(3) in the mixed ⁠doubles, ensuring Poland's progress ‌to Sunday's final."I'm so proud of our team... I gave everything that I had. It means a lot, it's a great victory for us," Kawa said. BENCIC STEERS SWITZERLAND TO VICTORYBelinda Bencic led Switzerland to their first United Cup final, beating Elise Mertens in the singles before returning alongside Jakub Paul to clinch a doubles win.In the deciding mixed doubles match, the Swiss duo claimed a 6-3 0-6 10-5 win over Mertens and Zizou Bergs in an hour and 17 minutes.Bencic and Paul coasted through the first set but won a total of just 12 points in the second set as the match went into a tiebreak.The Swiss pair did well to shake off their collapse and refocus, taking five points in a row to give ​themselves a 9-4 lead and then crossing ‌the finish line when Bergs netted a return."It's easy to find the energy with this team. It's just great to play with Belinda. ⁠I mean, just hats off to her ‍to play almost three hours and then come out again for the doubles," Paul said.The tie was played in gruelling conditions as temperatures hovered around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).Earlier, Bergs needed an energy-sapping two-and-a-half hours on court to beat Stan Wawrinka 6-3 6-7(4) 6-3. Bergs took the first set with ease but was pushed hard in the second as the Swiss captain rallied to level the match.Bergs found himself down ​40-0 on Wawrinka’s serve at 4-3 in the third set, but the Belgian clawed his way back and claimed a decisive break.In the tie's first match, Bencic kept alive her undefeated run at the tournament as she beat Elise Mertens 6-3 4-6 7-6(0) and put Switzerland in front.Bencic, a former Olympic gold medallist, has won all four singles and all four mixed doubles matches during the United Cup."It feels like 170 kilos fell off my shoulders - I was so stressed; I really wanted to do well, and today I felt so much pressure to not let my team down," Bencic said."I ⁠was really focused on myself, on breathing, and I'm super happy that I stayed tough in the important moments." 

Alex de Minaur kept alive his chances of reaching the last four of the ATP Finals Thursday after beating Taylor Fritz in straight sets 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 in Turin.Australia’s De Minaur had to win in straight sets in order to have any chance of making it out of the Jimmy Connors Group, and he now needs Carlos Alcaraz to beat Lorenzo Musetti later on Thursday in order to book his place in the semi-finals.Should Alcaraz beat local hero Musetti, as he is widely expected to, seventh seed De Minaur will take second place in the group after avoiding a sixth straight defeat at the Finals.Hard court specialist De Minaur won his 43rd match of the season on the surface, the most on the men’s tour, and was too much for Fritz once he prevailed in the first set tie-break.“Couple days ago was one of the toughest days I’ve had in my career. I was in a very, very dark spot. I could tell you that I hated the sport,” De Minaur told reporters.“Here we are two days later and I’m feeling great about myself. It’s incredible.”De Minaur revealed that personal battle after defeat to Musetti on Tuesday helped his mindset coming into the match with Fritz.“Regardless of the result today, I had made peace with myself. That was a big, big moment. I knew the way I wanted to play. I was going to commit to it from the first point to the last,” he said. “I was okay with the result not going my way. I had made peace with that. I just wanted to play my way.”Defeat for Fritz in one hour and 35 minutes ended the American’s participation in this year’s edition of the prestigious end-of-season tournament.“Today was probably the match that I’m not super happy about,” Fritz said.“I thought the other two matches I played well, did a lot of things well that maybe I hadn’t been doing well. I thought the first two matches I returned exceptionally well... There’s some positives to take. Obviously, right now I feel pretty upset.”Alcaraz is now guaranteed a spot in the semi-finals but still needs to beat Musetti to both secure first place in the group and claim the year-end number one ranking for the second time.If Musetti beats Alcaraz and joins Jannik Sinner in the next round it will be the first time two Italians have reached the semis in the history of the tournament.Sinner reached the last four of the after beating Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-3 to qualify from the Bjorn Borg group with a match to spare.World number one Sinner is bidding to retain his title at the prestigious end-of-season tournament and he cruised into the semi-finals in front of a delighted crowd in Turin. The 24-year-old was not at his best and struggled with a hand problem at the start of the match but still had more than enough to see off Zverev for the fifth straight time.“I’ve known Sasha for a long time now and we changed our tactics a bit today, fortunately I only needed a break in each set to win. I’m very happy obviously, let’s see how we go in the next match,” said Sinner on court.“I’ve played well in recent weeks so I came into the tournament feeling good. We want to go as far as possible but also to play the right way.”Zverev hasn’t beaten Sinner since the 2023 US Open, being destroyed by the Italian in the semi-finals of the recent Paris Masters, and again the German couldn’t handle the four-time Grand Slam champion.Sinner was brutal on his serve, rattling in 12 aces, and once he took the first set with his third break point of game 10 he never looked back.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz came under extreme pressure before overcoming American Taylor Fritz 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-3 in a thrilling round-robin match at the ATP Finals Tuesday, leaving the Spaniard on two wins from two.Last year’s finalist Fritz played the tennis of his life, as both men served up the best encounter of the season-ending championships so far, but the American ran out of steam as Alcaraz turned on the style and took the deciding set with ease.Alcaraz and Fritz had won their opening Jimmy Connors Group matches, and the Spaniard looked in real trouble when the American took the opening set in a tiebreak. Alcaraz faced break points in the second set but rallied back to draw level.Fritz began to tire, and Alcaraz broke to lead 4-2 in the final set before wrapping up the win in two hours and 48 minutes by serving out to love.“It was pretty tight, I was struggling more than him in the first set,” Alcaraz said. “I wasn’t serving well, and I think he was pretty comfortable from the baseline, from everywhere.”Alcaraz will be assured of a semi-final place if Alex de Minaur defeats Lorenzo Musetti in the evening match. He also needs one more victory to guarantee the year-ending world number one spot, and will face Musetti Thursday.“I try not to think about it to be honest,” Alcaraz said.“Obviously it’s going to be a really big match for me. I’ll try to control the emotions, to control myself.”Tuesday’s clash was a battle from the opening game, with Fritz taking nine minutes to hold after hitting three aces but also facing two break points. The American forced three break points in the next game before the pair traded breaks.Fritz raced into a 5-2 lead in the tiebreak and smashed two aces to take the set. At 2-2 in the second, Alcaraz was rattled, his drop shots which earlier beat Fritz began to fall short but, after losing advantage five times, the Spaniard held on.Alcaraz got lucky with a shot that hit the net but crept over in the final game of the second set and broke to take the match to a third, where Alcaraz outclassed an exhausted Fritz.“I was really relieved after the win because of everything I went through during the match,” Alcaraz said aft.“I wasn’t feeling the ball as well as I was in the first round, but I’m really happy that I found a way to come back.”Two fans die on second day of ATP FinalsTwo spectators died from cardiac arrests during the second day of the ATP Finals at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, the Italian Tennis Federation (FITP) and the ATP said Tuesday.The individuals were aged 70 and 78 and the incidents occurred at different times on Monday. The first singles match between Italian Lorenzo Musetti and Taylor Fritz was delayed, with an announcement made regarding a medical situation in the arena.“The Italian Tennis and Padel Federation (FITP) and the ATP express their deepest condolences following the tragic passing of two spectators Tuesday during the ATP Finals in Turin,” a joint statement said Tuesday.“On-site medical and emergency personnel responded immediately, providing all possible assistance. Despite prompt intervention and subsequent transfer to hospital, unfortunately, both sadly passed away.”The season-ending championships have been held at the Turin arena since 2021, with the Italian city confirmed as host for 2026.The ATP Finals will remain in Italy until 2030.Large crowds were at the arena on Monday when along with Musetti, Italian fans were out in force to cheer on defending champion Jannik Sinner who defeated Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Carlos Alcaraz won his eighth title of a sensational season in Tokyo and then pulled out of the Shanghai Masters because of “physical issues” and took aim at tennis’ packed schedule.The Spanish world number one hurt his ankle in his opening match at the Japan Open but shrugged off the issue to beat American Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 in the final. But immediately after downing the world number five, the six-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz took aim at the tennis calendar.“The schedule is really tight. They have to do something with the schedule,” the recently crowned US Open champion told reporters in the Japanese capital, echoing the sentiments this week of fellow major champions Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.Alcaraz subsequently wrote on Instagram that he will not play at the prestigious Shanghai Masters starting this week. “Unfortunately I’ve been struggling with some physical issues and, after discussing with my team, we believe the best decision is to rest and recover,” the 22-year-old wrote.Alcaraz injured his ankle last week in Tokyo as he ran for a shot, crumpling to the ground and sitting on the court for about five minutes. He returned to play with heavy strapping on his ankle and has admitted that the injury had been on his mind throughout the tournament. It did not appear to bother him against Fritz, as he gave another breathtaking display to lift the trophy in his first appearance in Japan.He clinched victory with a cleverly disguised drop shot before strolling to the net to give Fritz a warm embrace. The win gave Alcaraz a measure of revenge after losing to Fritz for the first time at the Laver Cup in San Francisco two weeks ago.The number of matches in the men’s and women’s tennis calendar has been a major talking point in recent years, with players such as Novak Djokovic cutting back the tournaments they compete in as they near the end of their careers. Gauff called for shorter seasons and said it was “impossible” to play more than she already does, after Swiatek also hit out at the number of tournaments. They were speaking at the China Open, where five players retired injured from matches on Monday.“With more and more events being two weeks it just doesn’t really make sense to strain your body,” the American Gauff said after emerging unscathed to reach the quarter-finals. “I would like to see in my lifetime on tour that a solution be made to make the season shorter,” the 21-year-old world number three added.Gauff, the defending China Open champion and two-time major winner, weighed in after top seed Swiatek said on Monday she may skip mandatory tournaments to protect her health. Starting last year, the Women’s Tennis Association made it mandatory for top players to participate in each Grand Slam, 10 WTA 1000 events – which includes Beijing – and six 500-level tournaments.“I guess on a business standpoint, it can kind of make sense, but on a player health standpoint, I don’t really agree with it,” Gauff said. “I’ve basically played as much tennis as I possibly can.”Poland’s world number two Swiatek called the WTA’s mandatory requirements “pretty crazy”. In Tokyo, Alcaraz said he too would look at skipping mandatory tournaments on the men’s ATP Tour.“We as tennis players, we are not allowed to have a choice if we have to play or not,” he said following his convincing two-set win over Fritz. “To be honest, I have to consider in the future if I have to skip some mandatory tournaments just to maintain my physical condition in a good shape.”Daniil Medvedev retired injured from his China Open semi-final Tuesday.

Taylor Fritz held off Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to seal Team World’s triumph in the Laver Cup Monday as two wins for Carlos Alcaraz on the final day proved too little for Team Europe.Fritz fired a backhand volley winner on his first match point to give Team World a 15-9 victory over Europe in the global tennis event, sparking jubilant celebrations from his teammates and World captain Andre Agassi at Chase Center – home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.“The energy from the team, it just feels the moments of winning feel so much better, the moments of losing feel so much worse because you’re doing it for all these guys,” Fritz said.“It just fires me up so much,” added the fifth-ranked American, who had beaten Alcaraz on Saturday when Team World swept all four matches to seize a 9-3 lead.Fritz had raced through the opening set against a weary-looking Zverev.The German stepped it up in the second set, but he was down a break and trailing 4-3 before he finally mustered his first break points of the night.He converted his third to level the set at 4-4 to the delight of his Europe teammates and captain Yannick Noah.A quick hold from Zverev left Fritz serving to stay in the set. He held to love and they battled to the tiebreaker, where Fritz took a 3-0 lead only for Zverev to win three straight points before Fritz won four of the final five.Alcaraz, fresh off his sixth Grand Slam title at the US Open, had kept Europe’s title defence alive with a blistering 6-2, 6-1 victory over Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo.Alcaraz and Casper Ruud had sliced Europe’s deficit with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 doubles victory over Reilly Opelka and Alex Michelsen to open Sunday’s action. But Australian world number eight Alex De Minaur then beat Czech Jakub Mensik 6-3, 6-4 to push Team World’s lead to 12-6, with 13 points needed to claim the Cup and each match on Sunday worth three points.De Minaur, a late replacement on Team World for Frances Tiafoe, had nabbed two wins on Saturday – beating Zverev in singles and coming through again in doubles.Team World regained the title they surrendered to Europe last year in Berlin.Europe have won five of eight editions of the event co-created by Swiss great Roger Federer, which will be held in London next year.