Wimbledon 2022: U.S. out of singles following dramatic Fritz quarterfinal, Krawczyk could win two doubles titles

Americans out of singles after Fritz falls to Rafa in epic five-setter

The last American standing in the singles draw, No. 11 seed Taylor Fritz took No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal to five sets in a tense, tactical, classic quarterfinal that signaled—among other things—a bright future for the 24-year-old California native.  

Halfway through the first set, it seemed the American might be in trouble: Fritz initially trailed 3-1. He then blazed through five games to take the opener in just 37 minutes, as a seemingly injured Nadal simply couldn’t keep up with his opponent’s aggressive shots.

After calling for a medical timeout in the second to address abdominal issues, the Spaniard belted a flurry of his signature forehands to tie the match at one set apiece. 

Nadal is now 19-0 at Grand Slam tournaments this year. He will face the unseeded, 27-year-old Australian Nick Kyrgios in Friday’s semifinal. During his first Wimbledon singles quarterfinal since 2014, world No. 45 Kyrgios swept Chile’s Cristian Garin 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(5).  

Prior to the Fritz-Nadal epic, the last American woman competing in singles lost her quarterfinal. The 20-year-old, 20th-seeded Amanda Anisimova fell to Romania’s 16th-seeded Simona Halep, 6-2, 6-4. In 2019, Halep won her second—and most recent—singles Slam at Wimbledon. 

Though she lost, Anisimova has not delved this deep into a Grand Slam bracket since she reached the Roland Garros semifinals in 2019.

Headed into the quarterfinals, three Americans remained in play: Duo Jack Sock and Coco Gauff – the latter, this year’s 18-year-old Roland Garros singles and doubles finalist – and California’s Desirae Krawczyk, who re-teamed with Great Britain’s Neal Skupski in hopes of repeating last year’s Wimbledon win.  

Sock and Gauff fell in three sets to Australia’s Matthew Ebden and Samantha Stosur, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5. But Skupski and Krawczyk won their three-setter, from 6-4, 4-2 down, against Croatia’s Mate Pavic and India’s Sania Mirza, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.

They were also a break down early in the final set. 

Adding to his two men’s doubles major titles, Ram has also won mixed at the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021 with the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova. He and compatriot Venus Williams earned mixed silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Ram reached his career-high doubles ranking, world No. 2, earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the all-American pairing of Denis Kudla and Jack Sock retired from their quarterfinal due to an injury to Kudla. They trailed No. 6 seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah by two sets to one.