LONDON – Morgan knows best, apparently.
Taylor Fritz thought the motivational note he wrote to himself after losing at Wimbledon four years ago would stay private. His girlfriend, influencer Morgan Riddle, later shared it on social media.
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"That note was never supposed to be public,” a smiling Fritz said after his 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) win over Karen Khachanov set up a semifinal meeting with two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Fritz had written to himself in the note that “nobody in the whole world is underachieving harder than you” and urged himself to get his act together.
Not only does Fritz forgive Riddle, he also credits her for having such a big impact on him rising to No. 5 in the world rankings in pursuit of his first Grand Slam title.
“There’s been a pretty constant results-and-ranking rise since we’ve been together,” Fritz said. "I think I would have to say she's been a big help to me just kind of keeping me focused, having someone who cares and just pushes you to just do better and do the right things, be healthier.
"Almost like kind of just mother me in a way," he added, chuckling to himself, “with like, the diet and going to sleep on time.”
A smiling Fritz later added: “Yeah, that maybe wasn’t the best choice of words.”
The 27-year-old American, who was the runner-up at last year’s U.S. Open, didn't face a break point in the first two sets against No. 17 Khachanov, who rebounded in the third set. It was 4-all in the fourth-set tiebreaker before Fritz claimed the final three points on Court No. 1.
It's the first time Fritz has reached the last four at Wimbledon. He's won two grass-court titles this season — Stuttgart and Eastbourne — and was happy he wouldn't be facing Alcaraz on clay, which would be “an absolute nightmare.”
“Grass is very much so an equalizer. It can be an equalizer. So trust in how I’m playing,” he said. “I truly know the way that I played the first two sets today, there’s not much any opponent on the other side can do.”
Alcaraz: Golf first, then Fritz
The second-seeded Alcaraz is within sight of a Wimbledon three-peat. He extended his winning streak to 23 matches this season by beating Cameron Norrie 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 on Centre Court.
Alcaraz, who has beaten Novak Djokovic in the past two finals at the All England Club, faced only five break points and saved all of them.
He wants to hit some other greens, though, before he faces Fritz
“For sure I’m going to play some golf, just to switch up my mind a little bit,” Alcaraz said
The 22-year-old Spaniard has been playing golf with Andy Murray during his Wimbledon run.
This time, his opponent could be actor Tom Holland, whom he had run into earlier.
“I would love to play against him in the golf course. For me it would be such an honor. I will try to set it up in these two days that I will have much time to do it. So let’s see if he will be available, and we’ll tee it up.”
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis