U.S. Open finalist Taylor Fritz progressed to the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the third time in four years on Sunday after his opponent, Jordan Thompson, retired injured while trailing 6-1, 3-0 after just 41 minutes on Court 2.
Thompson, unseeded and visibly hampered by back and leg issues, took a medical timeout early in the second set before attempting to play three more points. The Australian ultimately called time on the match, his movement and power clearly compromised.
“It’s obviously not the way that I want to go through,” said No. 5 seed Fritz. “It’s just sad. ... Respect to him for coming out. His body’s not right.”
Fritz, 26, had been pushed to five sets twice and four sets once in earlier rounds, so Sunday’s curtailed match came as a brief reprieve. The American will now face No. 17 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia on Tuesday for a place in the semi-finals — a round neither has reached at the All England Club.
Khachanov booked his quarterfinal spot with a commanding 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 win over Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak. The Russian struck 44 winners to just 21 unforced errors in what he described as a “really great performance.”
Majchrzak, ranked 109th, was making his first appearance in the fourth round of a major, having previously lost six consecutive Grand Slam matches before his surprise run at Wimbledon.
Khachanov has reached two major semi-finals in his career — at the 2022 U.S. Open and the 2023 Australian Open — while Fritz made his first Grand Slam final earlier this year in New York, where he lost to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
In other matches scheduled for Sunday, two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was set to meet No. 14 seed Andrey Rublev, while Britain’s Cam Norrie was due to face Nicolas Jarry.
In the women’s fourth round, top seed Aryna Sabalenka was drawn against No. 24 Elise Mertens, with other ties including No. 13 Amanda Anisimova vs. No. 30 Linda Noskova, Sonay Kartal vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and lucky loser Solana Sierra taking on Laura Siegemund.
Looking ahead to Monday, quarterfinal berths will be decided with high-profile contests on Centre Court. Twenty-four-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic is scheduled to take on No. 11 seed Alex de Minaur at 1:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET).
The two were slated to meet in last year’s Wimbledon quarterfinals, but the Australian withdrew with a hip injury before the match.
That clash will be followed by No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva against No. 10 Emma Navarro, who knocked out 2024 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova in the third round.
Later, Jannik Sinner, the tournament’s top men’s seed, will play No. 19 Grigor Dimitrov. Also in action on Monday are Iga Swiatek, Ben Shelton, and former Wimbledon finalist Marin Čilić.
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