Rock-solid Fritz edges Bublik to reach Wimbledon quarterfinal again

By Pritha Sarkar and Martyn Herman

Taylor Fritz tamed mercurial Kazakh Alexander Bublik to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the fourth time in five years on Monday as the American once again put himself in the mix to win a first Grand Slam title.

The rock-solid sixth seed dominated a first-set tiebreak after a battle of high-quality serving and was clinical at the key moments after that to win 7-6(1) 6-4 6-4 on Court One.

Fritz becomes the 10th American player to reach the quarter-finals on at least four occasions — a list containing the likes of Pete Sampras, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe.

Unlike those illustrious compatriots, Fritz has yet to take the final step. His only appearance in a Grand Slam final ended in defeat at the 2024 US Open to Jannik Sinner.

He will face either second seed Alexander Zverev or Jiri Lehecka in the last eight.

Come Wimbledon, there often seems to be a Czech rising at the All England Club and this year Linda Noskova could be the one to lay down the marker after she dispatched American Madison Keys 6-4 7-6(2) on Monday to reach the quarterfinals.

Eager to follow in the footsteps of her champion compatriots Petra Kvitova, Marketa Vondrousova and Barbora Krejcikova, the 21-year-old Noskova showed her growing maturity on grass to reach the last eight of the grasscourt major for the first time.

Noskova displayed the skills she had developed under the watchful eye of Martina Hingis’ mother, Melanie Molitor, from the age of 3 to 19, to save both break points she faced early on before pouncing on her only opportunity in the 10th game to secure the opening set.

Playing on a sparsely filled Court One, with many fans opting to escape the blazing sun, American 26th seed Keys struggled to rediscover the touch that had left 2025 runner-up Amanda Anisimova chasing shadows in the previous round.

Just when Noskova threatened to blow away Keys in the second by surging to a 3-0 lead, the Czech’s serve started misfiring uncontrollably. She delivered four double faults to get broken in the fifth game, allowing the 2025 Australian Open champion to fight back to 3-3 and drag the set into a tiebreak.

However, ninth seed Noskova was not to be denied and she produced a dropshot winner on her first match point to seal a last-eight showdown with Belgian 25th seed Elise Mertens.

“It’s obviously very special for me to play even on such a court. I played a match [here on Court One] last year, it was not as happy ending as this one,” said Noskova, who warmed up for Wimbledon by winning both the singles and doubles titles in Berlin.

“I’m very glad I got through this one because Madison’s a really, really tough player. Incredible serve. So I’m glad I survived some of her serves to get through them.”

While Noskova joins fellow Czech Karolina Muchova in the quarters as the country looks to claim the Venus Rosewater Dish for the third time in four years, the defeat snapped Keys’ eight-match winning streak on grass following her success in Eastbourne last month.

“I had opportunities early in the first set to break, and I didn’t even get the point started. That’s pretty frustrating,” Keys said after her hopes of becoming the first American to triumph at Wimbledon since Serena Williams won the last of her seven titles in 2016 were dashed.

“She’s constantly dictating, and you feel like she’s trying to take time away from you. Then she also has the variety. So she has a little bit of everything that makes her really dangerous, especially on this surface.”

Italy’s Jasmine Paolini ended Alexandra Eala’s trailblazing Wimbledon run in the fourth round with a 6-4 4-6 6-3 victory on a baking hot Centre Court.

The 21-year-old left-hander Eala is the first player from the Philippines to go so far in a Grand Slam and she pushed the 2024 runner-up hard throughout an absorbing contest.

Thirteenth seed Paolini, whose participation at Wimbledon was in doubt with a foot injury, started fast and surged into a 4-1 lead before Eala began to find her feet.

Eala has captivated Wimbledon crowds with her bubbly personality and free-flowing game which accounted for defending champion Iga Swiatek on Saturday.

With warm crowd support on Centre Court and 8,000 fans watching back home in the PhilSports Arena in Manila, she hit back strongly to take the second set as errors began to flow from the Paolini racket.

The match was poised on a knife edge going into the decider but Paolini got the break of serve to lead 5-3 and then finished the job in the next game as Eala sent a return wide.