LONDON, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Alexander Zverev moved to within three games of reaching his first Wimbledon quarterfinal on Monday, while Taylor Fritz, Flavio Cobolli and British wildcard Arthur Fery secured their places in the last eight at the All England Club.
Second seed Zverev was leading 13th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 7-5, 3-3 when their fourth-round match was suspended due to the 11 p.m. curfew. The German will return on Tuesday to complete the contest, with the winner facing sixth seed Fritz for a place in the semifinals.
The 29-year-old Zverev is making his 10th appearance at Wimbledon but had never previously gone beyond the last 16. Competing at the Championships for the first time as a Grand Slam champion, he has shown strong form on grass, dropping only one set through his first three matches and two sets so far in the fourth round.
Fritz, meanwhile, continued his impressive Wimbledon record by defeating 10th seed Alexander Bublik 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals for the fourth time in five years.
The American, who reached last year's semifinals, delivered a dominant serving performance against Bublik, hitting 22 aces and winning 90 percent of points behind his first serve.
"When I got my opportunities to break, I took them, and when he got in some service games, had some looks in some scary moments, I played really well to get myself out of those situations," Fritz said.
Fritz missed much of the European clay-court season because of injury and lost both matches he played on the surface at Roland Garros and Geneva, but has rediscovered his best form on grass as he continues his pursuit of a first Grand Slam title.
Italian 10th seed Flavio Cobolli also advanced to the quarterfinals, defeating Australian Alex de Minaur 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-3 in a battle between two top-10 players.
Britain's remaining singles hope Arthur Fery produced the biggest win of his career, recovering from two sets to one down to beat Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(7) on Centre Court. The world No. 114 became the first British wildcard in the Open Era to reach a Grand Slam men's singles quarterfinal and the lowest-ranked player to make the Wimbledon men's last eight in 12 years.
"I couldn't have imagined it," Fery said. "A week ago I would have been happy to win a few matches here. To win four and be in the quarterfinals, it's a dream."
In the women's draw, 14th seed Jasmine Paolini ended Alexandra Eala's historic run with a hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory.
Eala had become the first player from the Philippines in the Open Era to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam after defeating defending champion Iga Swiatek, but the 21-year-old was unable to continue her breakthrough campaign.
Paolini, who reached consecutive finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2024, said her resilience had helped her through a difficult period this year.
"It was really tough, a rollercoaster. 2026 proved a lot to me," the 30-year-old said. "There were tough moments but I kept working."
Paolini will face Ukrainian 12th seed Marta Kostyuk for a place in the semifinals. ■
