Alexander Zverev breaks Taylor Fritz hoodoo to reach Wimbledon semi-finals

The French Open champion defeated the American 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 59 minutes on Court One, snapping a seven-match losing streak against Fritz and booking a last-four showdown with British wildcard Arthur Fery.

The victory extends Zverev's impressive record at the majors this season to 17 wins from 18 matches after reaching the Australian Open semi-finals and lifting his maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros last month.

"It is always in the back of your mind when you haven't beaten an opponent for more than two years," Zverev said after the match.

"He has been beating me for two years straight. Today I knew I had to play an almost perfect match to have a chance, and I felt like I did that."

Having never progressed beyond the fourth round in his previous nine Wimbledon appearances, the German has now become only the fifth active men's player to reach the semi-finals at all four Grand Slam tournaments, joining Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Marin Cilic.

The second seed also became just the fifth German man in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals and moved within two victories of claiming his second consecutive Grand Slam title.

Zverev delivered one of his finest performances on grass, overcoming early pressure on serve before taking firm control of the contest. After saving two break points in his opening service game, he faced another tense moment while serving for the opening set at 5-4, but responded with two aces and two unreturned serves to close it out.

Fritz's afternoon became more difficult early in the second set when he called for a medical timeout to receive treatment on his troublesome right knee. The American, who has managed knee tendinitis throughout the season, continued to compete but struggled to match Zverev's consistency from the baseline and power behind serve.

The German repeatedly attacked Fritz's second serve, preventing the world No. 7 from establishing any rhythm. Fritz won just 44 per cent of points behind his second delivery during the opening two sets as Zverev maintained relentless pressure.

Zverev earned the decisive break late in the second set before raising his level again in the third, striking a series of backhand winners and dominating behind his own serve. He finished with 14 aces and dropped just eight points on serve across the final two sets before sealing victory with another unreturnable delivery.

Fritz admitted afterwards that his knee problem affected both his movement and concentration, although he refused to use it as an excuse.

"I don't want to take away from how well he's playing. I'm not saying the result would have been any different," Fritz said.

"I was just panicking. I didn't expect it at all. Because I was thinking about the knee, my focus was kind of all over the place."

The defeat ended Fritz's campaign as the last remaining American man in the singles draw and extended the United States' wait for a men's Grand Slam champion to 90 consecutive majors since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003.

Awaiting Zverev in Friday's semi-final is home favourite Arthur Fery, who continued his remarkable Wimbledon run by defeating ninth seed Flavio Cobolli in straight sets.

As cheers from Centre Court filtered across during the closing stages of Zverev's victory, the German was already aware that Fery had secured his place in the last four.

"It is OK, you guys can all be for Fery â- I understand and don't have a problem with it," Zverev joked.

"For him it is a fairytale story. I have to trust myself and trust my tennis and see what happens."

Victory over Fery would not only send Zverev into his first Wimbledon final but would also see him overtake Carlos Alcaraz to reclaim the world No. 2 ranking for the first time since May last year.

READ MORE: British wildcard Arthur Fery stuns Flavio Cobolli to reach Wimbledon semifinals