Day 9 Recap

Quick Served: Day 9 — Getting To The Fun Part

Four players have punched their tickets to the semifinals, with four more spots up for grabs.

Fresh off his flight home from Wimbledon, Andy recaps the first day of quarterfinal action, reveals who looked like a Mortal Kombat character, and explains why “the more normal it is, the more normal it seems.”

Plus, he takes a moment to praise Amanda Anisimova, not just for her win, but for her openness about her mental health journey and the example she’s setting for other athletes.

Don’t miss Andy’s full Day 9 recap with a preview of tomorrow’s matches, including a reminder that a certain 24-time major winner is still very much in the mix.

The two Americans and the two favorites advanced to the semifinals at SW19 on Tuesday.

On the men’s side, No. 5 seed Taylor Fritz closed out No. 17 seed Karen Khachanov in the fourth set to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal.

After jumping out to take the first two sets, Fritz went through a tough stretch where he lost eight of nine games and lost the third set 1-6. He later said he never had a match “just flip so quickly” before.

Fritz has now won 13 matches on grass in 2025, the most on tour and the most by an American man in a single season since the ATP Tour was formed in 1990.

He’s also the first American to reach three ATP-level semifinals on grass in a season. He won the title at those first two events (Stuttgart and Eastbourne).

Additionally, he overcame another malfunction with Wimbledon’s electronic line calling system. The technology tracked one of his shots in the fourth set as if it were a serve, forcing Fritz and Khachanov to replay the point.

Andy explains why Fritz looks so comfortable at the later-stages of majors and what it’s like being one of the last players left in the locker room at a Slam.

As it turns out, the motivational note Fritz wrote to himself in 2021 is paying dividends.

After two days off, he’ll face two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz who swept Cameron Norrie in straights.

The No. 2 seed needed just one hour and 39 minutes to knock-out the last Brit in the tournament and advance to his third straight semifinal at the All England Club. It’s the eighth time he’s reached the Final Four of a major.

It was a masterful performance for the 22-year-old, especially with his serves. The Spaniard won 89% of first-serve points and recorded 12 aces.

The three-peat is within reach, and another title at SW19 would make Alcaraz and Bjorn Borg the only men in the Open Era to win the Wimbledon-French Open double in back-to-back years.

Listen now to hear Andy explain how Alcaraz raised his level of play to “video game” mode.

While Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka are the two favorites to win the titles, and both became the first players to clinch spots in their respective year-end tour finals, Sabalenka had a different journey to the semifinals on Tuesday.

The World No. 1 lost the opening set to 37-year-old Laura Siegemund and thought her Wimbledon campaign was over.

"Honestly, after the first set I was looking at my box and thinking, 'guys, book the tickets, I think we're about to leave this beautiful city,'“ Sabalenka said after the match.

The three-time major winner took the second set and survived the third after coming from a break down twice. The two hour and 54 minute match was the third-longest women’s contest at the All England Club this year.

Sabalenka was able to conquer Siegemund’s ‘tricky’ play-style and said it’s not “an annoying game, it’s a smart game.” The top seed also complemented Siegemund’s play in their match and throughout the tournament where she reached her first major quarterfinal.

Andy reminds us to not take Sabalenka’s success for granted as she closes in on her first grass-court major.

While she returns to the Final Four for a third time at Wimbledon, her opponent is making her semifinal debut at the All England Club.

No. 13 seed Amanda Anisimova held on in the second set tiebreak to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straights. The American is now a winner of 28 consecutive matches after taking the first set.

Regardless of the result against Sabalenka, Anisimova will break into the Top 10 of the rankings for the first time.

It’s been quite the comeback journey for the 23-year-old, who reached the last four at Roland-Garros in 2019 when she was just 17. 

Anisimova took several months off from tennis in 2023 to work on her mental health. She was ranked No. 442 at the start of last season and was ranked No. 189 when she lost in the first round of Wimbledon qualifying last year.

Andy compliments Anisimova for having “the guts” to speak openly about prioritizing her mental health, and explains why her story offers a valuable lesson for us all.

Despite facing the top seed, Anisimova will enter the match with confidence as she holds a 5-3 head-to-head advantage over Sabalenka. Though, this will be their first meeting on grass.

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner had a limited practice session on Tuesday after he sustained a right elbow injury against Grigor Dimitrov, who was forced to retire with a pectoral injury despite holding a two-set advantage.

After Monday’s match, the Italian said he would have an MRI on Tuesday to see if the injury was serious.

His coach, Darren Cahill, did not give an update on the MRI results while working as an analyst for ESPN. When asked on set if Sinner is 100%, Cahill said “fingers crossed.”

Cahill added that Sinner did have a light 20-30 minute practice session on indoor hard courts before Wednesday’s quarterfinal match against Ben Shelton.

“It’s not a bad thing sometimes [to practice on hard courts],” Cahill said on ESPN. “The more you play on grass with the uneven bounces, the more your timing goes off… [Andre] Agassi used to do it all the time… We’ve done that for a couple of years, so it wasn’t out of the ordinary.”

Cahill then said that Sinner lost about “six or seven miles per hour on average speed off the forehand, and off the serve as well” during his match against Dimitrov.

Have You Watched Our Re-Draw Show?

1 — Amanda Anisimova is the first American player to reach her first two women’s singles Grand Slam SFs not on hard court (Roland Garros 2019 on clay and Wimbledon 2025 on grass) since Jennifer Capriati.

2 — Aryna Sabalenka is the second player since 2000 to reach 10 women’s singles Grand Slam semifinals in a span of 11 consecutive appearances, after Serena Williams.

87 — Among top five seeds at the event, Taylor Fritz (87) has conceded the most games en route to a men’s singles semifinal at Wimbledon since Novak Djokovic (100) in 2007.

Matches To Watch: Wednesday, July 9

No. 7 Mirra Andreeva vs. Belinda Bencic: Both players have reached their first Wimbledon quarterfinal. Andreeva, the 18-year-old Russian, has yet to drop a set at SW19 and can be the first teenager to win the title since 2004. Bencic, a new mother, is one win away from returning to a semifinal at a Slam since the 2019 US Open and three wins away from being the first mom to win Wimbledon since 1980.

No. 8 Iga Swiatek vs. Liudmila Samsonova: By now, you’d hope Samsonova has checked the draw and learned she’s facing a five-time major winner. Her superstation of not knowing her opponent until the night before the match is working so far as the 26-year-old hasn’t dropped a set. Swiatek has yet to reach a Wimbledon semifinal and looks for her first title at SW19.

No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 10 Ben Shelton: The American can reach his third SF at a major, and his first at Wimbledon, with an upset over the World No. 1. Shelton has hit his groove on grass while Sinner suffered an injury in his last match. The three-time major winner is still searching for his first Wimbledon title.

No. 6 Novak Djokovic vs. Flavio Cobolli : There’s a stark contrast in major-resumés (and age) here. Djokovic has won seven titles at SW19, reached his 16th Wimbledon quarterfinal, and is eyeing his 25th major title. He’s also 15 years older than Cobolli, who is in the Elite 8 for the first time at a Slam. Regardless of the result, the 23-year-old Italian will jump to a new career-high in the rankings.

Wednesday’s Full Order Of Play