Alexander Zverev finishes off Jiri Lehecka to set up Taylor Fritz quarter-final

[p]The German second seed ‌had gone to bed ⁠the previous ‌evening tantalisingly close to breaking new ​ground at Wimbledon, leading by two sets and ​3-3 in the third when Wimbledon's strict 11 p.m. ⁠curfew halted ​his progress.[/p][p]On the resumption, a listless-looking [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zverev-alexander/dGbUhw9m/"]Zverev[/a] lost 12 of the first 13 points ‌to drop the third set but managed to re-focus to win [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/lehecka-j-6PlgfXKR/zverev-a-dGbUhw9m/?mid=t0QdIaFj"]6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(6)[/a].[/p][p]Zverev double-faulted on a second match point in the tiebreaker but was spared further overtime as 13th seed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lehecka-jiri/6PlgfXKR/"]Lehecka[/a] ‌netted a backhand.[/p][image alt="Match stats" id="83b71e9d-a5e6-46ee-99cb-7d233202ad1c" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="2adc3765-eac6-4988-9156-6ec8467c5324" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][h2]Huge serve and baseline power[/h2][p]His attempt to ​add the Wimbledon crown ‌to his maiden Grand Slam title at last month's French Open will continue with a heavy-metal last-eight clash ⁠with American [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fritz-taylor/UH09iaZ6/"]⁠Taylor Fritz[/a].[/p][p]"[b]Who would have thought it's only taken me 12 years to get (to my first Wimbledon quarter-final), but I'm incredibly happy and relieved. But of course ⁠I want to play three ​more matches[/b]."[/p][p]The 29-year-old had reached the fourth round on three previous occasions but despite boasting a serve that can trip the speed gun at 140 mph and heavy baseline power, the German has never looked as confident on the ‌lawns.[/p][p]This year, buoyed by finally winning a Grand Slam title at the 41st attempt and with Wimbledon's courts firmed up by the hot sunshine, Zverev is finally looking comfortable.[/p][embed guid="e548a248-f5fc-410d-8bf4-1835a3d3ad7e" url="https://x.com/Wimbledon/status/2074527232916181078" social-type="twitter" /][p]The powerful Lehecka presented a huge test but after finally getting on court around 9 p.m. on Monday, Zverev produced a clinical display and almost beat the clock.[/p][p]Re-energised by the interruption, Lehecka began in stunning fashion on Tuesday and within minutes he had won the third set.[/p][p]Zverev went back off court before the start of the fourth set and ‌re-established his rhythm on serve to keep Lehecka at bay. Zverev got ​ahead early in the tiebreak but at 6-5 he double-faulted to ‌hand Lehecka an escape route.[/p][p]Lehecka could not take advantage of his reprieve, though, as Zverev booked a Wednesday date with Fritz — a player he has beaten on two of their three Wimbledon meetings despite an overall losing record to the American.[/p][p]Asked what can be expected, Zverev said: "[b]I ⁠don't think it will be very ⁠entertaining because we both serve ‌140 mph and maybe there won't be many rallies[/b]."[/p][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /]