Alexander Zverev put in a dominant performance to end his dismal losing streak against the injured Taylor Fritz and reach his first Wimbledon semi-final.
The second seed had lost her previous seven meetings with Fritz and was outscored 10-5 in head-to-head matches, including two losses at the All England Club.
But with the American hampered by a knee injury, Zverev took advantage of a near-perfect performance to win 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 on Court One, his first victory over Fritz in more than two years.
A month after winning his first Grand Slam singles title at the French Open, Zverev was just two wins away from lifting his second major trophy as the German raised his hands to secure victory in just under two hours.
“He beat me two years in a row and I’m very happy to be in the semi-finals after finally getting the win,” Zverev said.
“Of course, you remember in your heart that you haven’t beaten your opponent for more than two years, he beat you many times in a row.
“You always think about it, but today I knew I had to play a perfect match, I had to play an almost perfect match to have a chance and I felt like I did that today.”
Zverev will meet Arthur Fehry in Friday’s semi-final after the British wild card defeated Italian runner-up Flavio Cobolli, the runner-up to Zverev, in the Roland Garros final last month.
While Zverev was officiating the match, news of Fery’s triumph reached the first court to applause from Center Court and the Hill.
“It’s okay guys, you can all be for Feri – I understand and I don’t have a problem with that,” Zverev said when asked about his opponent for his last four fights.
“It’s a fairy tale story for him—a fairy tale story for Arthur Fery, see what I did there?
“I have to trust myself and my tennis and see what happens.”