Taylor Fritz gets through another late-night five-setter to reach 3rd round at Wimbledon

LONDON (AP) — Late-night finishes and five-set matches are becoming a habit for Taylor Fritz at this year's Wimbledon.

This time, though, he managed to wrap up his win over Gabriel Diallo before the match was suspended — making sure the fifth-seeded American won't have to come back on court for a fourth straight day.

Fritz overcame a bloodied elbow to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (0), 4-6, 6-3 on No. 1 Court on Wednesday.

That was a day after he finished off another five-set win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in a match that was halted on Monday night at about 10:15 p.m. after Fritz forced a fifth set, with Wimbledon's 11 p.m. curfew looming.

He completed the win over Diallo a little later than that on Wednesday.

“That's an incredibly hard match," Fritz said. "The fourth set that I lost, I really don't think there's much I did wrong at all.”

Fritz sustained a cut to his elbow after diving to reach a ball when he had break point while trailing 3-2 in the fourth set. While he returned the ball, Diallo won the point and went on to hold serve.

Now Fritz is looking forward to finally getting a day off.

“Tomorrow is going to be a very, a very light hit. I think I've played plenty of tennis,” he said. “I'm very due a nice, relaxing day.”

Taylor Fritz of the U.S., right, greets Gabriel Diallo of Canada at the net after winning their second round men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Taylor Fritz of the U.S. returns to Gabriel Diallo of Canada during their second round men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Taylor Fritz of the U.S. falls after he dived to return to Gabriel Diallo of Canada during their second round men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Taylor Fritz of the U.S. reacts after beating Gabriel Diallo of Canada in their second round men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Four years after showing up late for the Beijing Olympics and missing one of his races because of a case of COVID-19, U.S. long track speedskater Casey Dawson is enjoying what he jokingly terms his “villain arc,” peaking at the right time ahead of the Milan Cortina Games.

Dawson secured a spot for next month in the men's 5,000 meters — an event he was forced to skip in 2022 while sick — by winning at that distance at the U.S. Olympic trials in 6 minutes, 12.857 seconds on Friday night.

“I actually got COVID two or three weeks before going to the competition. Tested positive for 50 straight tests,” said Dawson, a 25-year-old from Park City, Utah. “Couldn’t go over to the Games. I missed the opening ceremonies. Missed the 5,000 meters. Showed up 12 hours before my 1,500 meters. So I kind of got a little screwed over from that point of view. But this time around, I’m just looking forward to getting there smoothly and just getting a little bit of redemption.”

And then, with a chuckle, Dawson added: “It’s kind of fun to have, like, my villain arc, I would call it. Just coming back and having some fun.”

Ethan Cepuran was about 6 1/2 seconds back Friday, finishing next in 6:19.335.

The last American man to medal in the 5,000 at an Olympics was Chad Hedrick at the 2006 Turin Games.

Dawson already had secured the lone U.S. place for Milan in the men’s 10,000 — a race not being contested at these trials — and also will be part of the trio for men’s team pursuit at the Olympics.

Dawson, Cepuran and Emery Lehman took the bronze in that event in Beijing four years ago, set the world record in 2024 and claimed gold in the team pursuit at the world championships in March.

In the other race Friday, the women's 3,000, Greta Myers won in 4:06.799. As of now, the United States does not have a berth in Milan for that distance, but one of its athletes could end up in the field if another country relinquishes an opening.

“It's hard to wait,” said Myers, a 21-year-old from Lino Lakes, Minnesota. “But I'm very hopeful. I think it's at least a 50-50 chance that it'll happen.”

The U.S. Olympic roster for long track won't become official until the four-day trials at the Pettit National Ice Center wrap up on Monday. One element that could come into play is that the Americans are allowed to bring a maximum of eight men and six women to these Winter Games.

The biggest star of the team — and the sport — is scheduled to make his trials debut Saturday in the men's 1,000 meters: Jordan Stolz. The 21-year-old from Kewaskum, a town about 40 miles north of Milwaukee, is not just competing at home this week; he's racing at the same rink where he first began taking lessons as a kid.

He made his Olympic debut at age 17 in Beijing four years ago, finishing 13th in the 500 and 14th in the 1,000.

At both the 2023 and 2024 world championships, Stolz earned titles in each of the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 meters.

He's already pre-qualified for the Olympics based on performances at those three distances. All he really needs to do to lock down berths on the squad for the Feb. 6-22 Milan Cortina Games is show up at the starting line this week.

The 500 and 1,500 are slated for Sunday, and the mass start is Monday.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Casey Dawson, of Park City, Utah, right, and Ethan Cepuran, of Glen Ellyn, lllinois, left, compete in the men's 5,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic trials for long track speed skating at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Howard Fendrich)

The Pettit National Ice Center is seen in Milwaukee on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, the first day of the U.S. Olympic trials for long track speedskating. (AP Photo/Howard Fendrich)