Day 10 at The Championships sees the conclusion of the quarterfinals in singles play.
Two years ago in the round of 16, Taylor Fritz came from two-sets-to-love down to defeat Alexander Zverev in five sets. They promptly shared a tense hand shake at the net, with Zverev scolding Fritz for members of his player’s box cheering too boisterously during the match. And in his post-match press conference, Zverev went on to blame the loss on an injury, stating “I was playing on one leg.” Following that match, Fritz went on to defeat Zverev six more consecutive times, including just a few weeks ago in Halle. Will the American continue his domination of this rivalry, or can the newly-minted Major champion from Germany turn this rivalry around?
The other gentlemen’s singles quarterfinal on Wednesday features Roland Garros runner-up Flavio Cobolli taking on British wild card Arthur Fery, who has become the “Cinderella story” of this fortnight, as only the fifth wild card to reach this stage of Wimbledon in the Open Era.
The last two ladies’ singles quarterfinals see recent Roland Garros semifinalist Marta Kostyuk square off against a two-time Major runner-up in singles, Jasmine Paolini, and Linda Noskova vies for her first Major semifinal against Australian Open semifinalist Elise Mertens.
Linda Noskova (9) vs. Elise Mertens (25) – 1:00pm on No.1 Court
Noskova first broke through to a Major quarterfinal two-and-a-half years ago, in her first appearance at the Australian Open. As a teenager, she defeated four prominent players (Kenin, Collins, Swiatek, Svitolina), and was immediately considered a threat to contend for Majors. However, Noskova failed to reach another quarterfinal at the next nine Majors, with a record of just 9-9. But she has been resurging this past year, with two strong results at WTA 1000 events, and a grass court title just a few weeks ago in Berlin. Noskova has dropped two sets through four rounds, and saved a match point to defeat Sorana Cirstea in a third-set tiebreak.
Mertens has previously achieved three Major quarterfinals in singles, with her only semifinal coming eight-and-half years ago. And this is her first quarterfinal in nearly six years. Her best results at Majors in recent times have come in doubles: she’s accumulated six Major doubles titles, including two at The Championships. But she’s always remained a tough out in singles, and after earning her first career victory over a top 2 player against Elena Rybakina, she defeated Marie Bouzkova in straights on Monday.
In their first career meeting, I favor Noskova to achieve her first Major semifinal. She’s been the more in-form singles player, and her game translates a bit better on grass, with more compact groundstrokes. Plus, as recent history has shown, it’s usually not smart to pick against Czech women in the latter stages of Wimbledon.
Marta Kostyuk (12) vs. Jasmine Paolini (13) – 1:30pm on Centre Court
Kostyuk is following up her strong clay court season, where she went 16-1 and claimed two titles, with a second consecutive Major quarterfinal, and the third of her career. The 24-year-old Ukrainian is on the verge of debuting inside the top 10, and is now 27-5 this year on all surfaces. She’s dropped two sets thus far, and is 1-1 in this round of Majors.
Paolini was just 12-12 on the year before arriving in London, yet has rediscovered the good form that brought her all the way to the championship match two years ago. The 30-year-old Italian outlasted Alexandra Eala in three sets on Monday, to achieve just her third Major quarterfinal in singles. The only other two times she’s advanced this far at a Major, Paolini has made the final.
Their head-to-head stands is tied at 1-1, though they haven’t played in nearly three years, and both are much different players in 2026. Kostyuk has never been more confident, while Paolini didn’t become a top singles player until 2024. On Wednesday, I give the slight edge to Kostyuk, as she has the bigger game, and has been on a tear since the beginning of the clay court season.
Taylor Fritz (6) vs. Alexander Zverev (2) – Second on No.1 Court
Overall this head-to-head stands at 10-5 in the American’s favor, as Fritz didn’t always own Zverev as he has for the past two years. The German actually won five of their first eight meetings, including a third round match five years ago at this tournament, which he clinched in a fourth-set tiebreak. But since the aforementioned rematch here in 2024, Fritz is 7-0 against Zverev, and has now taken 10 of their last 12 sets.
Grass has certainly become Taylor’s best surface. Within the last five years, he’s now reached the quarterfinals or better at The Championships four times, and collected five grass court titles, with two other appearances in finals this year. Hampered by chronic knee tendinitis, Fritz was struggling this season until the grass court tournaments began. He’s gone 11-2 on this surface across the past month, with losses in finals to fellow Americans Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe. During this event, he’s won 12 of his 13 sets.
This is a first Wimbledon quarterfinal for Zverev, after three five-set losses here in the round of 16. Due to darkness on Monday night, Zverev returned to the court on Tuesday to play another set-and-a-half of tennis, finishing off Jiri Lehecka in four. With this new achievement unlocked, as well as finally winning his first Major last month, Zverev should be feeling little pressure in this match, especially since he’s not the favorite given his recent history with Fritz. But until he can notch a victory in this rivalry, Fritz remains the favorite.
Flavio Cobolli (9) vs. Arthur Fery (WC) – Second on Centre Court
Cobolli has now advanced to the quarterfinals or better at three of the last five Majors, after first doing so here a year ago, then reaching the championship match last month in Paris. He came back from two-sets-to-one down in the third round against Karen Khachanov, before upsetting fifth-seeded Alex de Minaur in straights on Monday. Major draws continue to be kind to the 24-year-old Italian: just a few weeks after receiving a walkover in the Roland Garros semifinals, he’s a huge favorite against a wild card in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
But Fery has been most impressive this fortnight, especially on Monday against Grigor Dimitrov, defeating him in a fifth-set tiebreak. In the biggest match of his life, the 23-year-old Brit showed less nerves at the end of that match than his veteran opponent, at a tournament he lives within walking distance of. Fery has played two five-setters in a row, and 18 out of a possible 20 sets, so he certainly won’t be fully fresh for his maiden Major quarterfinal.
However, Fery claimed his only prior encounter with Cobolli, which was a straight-set win in the first round of this year’s Australian Open. Yet it’s important to note Cobolli was far from fully fresh himself in that match, as he was suffering from a stomach bug. As the fresher, more experienced player on Wednesday, and as the player with bigger weapons, Cobolli should comfortably achieve his second Major semifinal.
Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.
