LONDON — A well-dressed Taylor Fritz impressed once more at Wimbledon on Thursday, defeating compatriot Patrick Kipson 6-2, 6-2, 7-5 to succeed in the third spherical.
Fritz’s white blazer and NBA-style warm-up pants drew consideration as he walked on the second courtroom, however he additionally performed nicely — hitting 19 aces and avoiding a fourth set.
The sixth-seeded American, final 12 months’s semifinalist, pumped his proper fist powerfully as he transformed his fourth match level to defeat Kipson.
Fritz, who gained the opening match in straight units, wore the same outfit, together with warm-up pants that could possibly be ripped. That is designed to be simply eliminated in a single go.
“I took it gradual within the first spherical. I really messed it up,” Fritz mentioned at a press convention. “It is really a lot simpler to steal it. I noticed a video of Francis (Tiafoe) doing it. I used to be simply making an attempt to mimic him right this moment.”
Later, the equally nifty Tiafoe confirmed off how he did it, drawing reward for his fast bottoming earlier than his match in opposition to Jan Choynski. Tiafoe, the seventeenth seed, gained 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.
“I had plenty of momentum from the top of the third,” the American mentioned in an on-court interview. “I simply wished to take a break early and take a few of his soul out and take away a few of his beliefs. And that is what occurred.”
Additionally on Thursday, second-seeded Alexander Zverev and fifth-seeded Alex de Minaur recorded straight-set wins.
Matteo Berrettini, who misplaced to Novak Djokovic within the 2021 Wimbledon ultimate, defeated twentieth seed Arthur Fils 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 on Middle Court docket.
Berrettini will subsequent face wildcard Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated fifteenth seed Jakub Menshik 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. Final 12 months, Dimitrov was main within the fourth spherical in opposition to eventual champion Jannik Sinner, however a pectoralis main harm pressured him to cease enjoying.
