Defending champion Taylor Fritz won two games in one day through the “crazy” wind conditions in Eastbourne.
Fritz’s second round draw with 18-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca was paused at a 6-3 6-7 (5-7) pace as the two recovered on Thursday afternoon, with Fritz defeating the decisive game 7-5.
That game ended at 12:47 on BST – four hours and 23 minutes later, Fritz returned to the midfield court to face Marcos Gillon in the quarterfinals.
Fritz entered the final four games against his fellow Americans 7-5 4-6 7-5.
“I love this game. I’m lucky to not play in strong winds,” said Fritz, a three-time champion in Eastbourne.
“It’s hard for me when I don’t like tennis here. I have to scrape and play crazy tennis during the wind.
“Obviously, I’m really happy to be able to get through it.”
Fritz beat third-place Alexander Zverev at the Stuttgart Open 11 days ago, a favorite of Wimbledon champions.
He faced the world No. 28 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the semifinals on Friday after Espanyol beat Czech Jakub Mensik 6-4 7-5.
