Portugal Colonial - Fritz powers past Bublik, into Wimbledon last eight again

The American sixth seed, beaten by Carlos Alcaraz in the semis last year, took control of the match in a first-set tie-break en route to a 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 6-4 success.

Fritz will face either French Open champion Alexander Zverev or Czech 13th seed Jiri Lehecka for a place in the last four.

"When you have two guys who are serving big, with quick points, it's going to come down to these key moments in the match and I thought I dealt with it really well," said Fritz, after needing only an hour and 39 minutes to see off Bublik on Court One.

He hammered 23 aces and 47 winners past Bublik, who ended the match visibly deflated as he struggled to get any foothold during Fritz's service games.

Fritz holds a 10-5 winning record against second seed Zverev and has won four of six meetings with Lehecka.

The 28-year-old is still bidding for a maiden Grand Slam title, having come closest when he lost the 2024 US Open final to Jannik Sinner.

He has threatened a title challenge at Wimbledon in recent years, losing a five-set epic in the 2022 quarter-finals against an injured Rafael Nadal, who then withdrew from the tournament.

E.Raimundo--PC