World No. 25 Lorenzo Musetti advances to his maiden Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon by outlasting 13th seed Taylor Fritz in a five-setter for the ages, becoming the fourth Italian man to reach the last four in singles in the tournament history, Wednesday in London.
The men’s singles semifinalists of the Championships 137th edition are locked up, and among them is 25th seed Lorenzo Musetti, the last Italian man standing following a dazzling performance against American Taylor Fritz to notch his spot in a career first major semifinal.
Under an open roof on Court 1, the world No. 25 showcased world-class tennis to earn a five-set turnaround triumph, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, over 13th seed Fritz in three hours and 27 minutes, setting up a clash with seventh time Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic.
“I don’t think I’ve realized yet what I have done,” said the player mentored by Simone Tartarini.
“Taylor was leading the game in the first, and I couldn’t return well, so I changed my attitude. That made the difference. Hopefully, on Friday, I will have the same one.”
Addressing his upcoming matchup against the Belgrade-born, he added: “I expect a big fight, but I’m an ambitious guy and like to be challenged.”
The American, a three-time Eastbourne champion, hit first, up a set and a break to start the second set.
Then, the Italian adjusted his game, fighting through a tight tiebreak to even the contest one set apiece. And he built upon momentum to extend his advantage, inching closer to a dream result.
However, Fritz, aiming to progress to the last four at a Slam for the first time in his career in eight appearances at the grass-court major, would not go down without a fight.
When the 26-year-old found himself 2-2 *0-40 down in the fourth set, he came out firing behind his booming serve to seal it 6-3, forcing a decider.
Nonetheless, on a surface where the serve makes a significant difference, the two-time tour-level titlist, who secured 63 points on his first serve compared to Fritz’s 57 overall, showed how solid he can be with his service.
He quickly opened a staggering 3-0 lead, going the distance to finish 6-1, winning 76 percent of the points on his first serve.
Moreover, sharp in his return game, Musetti won 55 points on his opponent’s serve, converting six out of 13 break point opportunities he had.
In addition, a round set saw him earning 22 of 31 net approaches, striking 35 winners against 39 unforced errors to his rival 41 to 55, respectively.
“Taylor was in great shape, and I played a fantastic match. I kept the best for the end,” stated the Carrara native.
On Wednesday, the contest between the 22-year-old and the world No. 12 was the only men’s singles quarterfinal of the day, following Australian Alex de Minaur’s withdrawal from his clash against Djokovic, giving the Serbian a walkover into his 13th semifinal at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
“Have to pull out due to a hip injury, a tear of the cartilage that connects to the adductors. I felt a crack during the last three points and had a scan confirming it was the injury with a high risk of making it worse,” explained De Minaur during a press conference held on Wednesday.
He sustained the injury on match point, just before wrapping up 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in his previous match against Frenchman Arthur Fils.
“It’s devastating. No way to beat around the bush, he added. It happened when I slid out to a forehand. It created a lot of force, and I heard that crack, which I knew would never be something good.”
“I think this injury is more of a freak injury. It’s an excessive amount of force made to slide on a grass court. I only did this because, at the time, it was a match point, and so I just went for it for a slide that was probably a little bit more than normal.”
The ninth seed was in visible pain as the match concluded; there was no celebration. It was not the reaction of a player who just advanced to the biggest match of his career.
He exchanged signs with his team and the situation did not seem encouraging. But during his on-court interview, he tried to stay positive when asked about his physical form, asserting he would be alright.
“I still wanted to wake up today hoping that I would feel some kind of miracle and not feel it while I was walking,” stressed the 25-year-old.
“The problem with me going out and playing is that one stretch, one slide, one anything could make this injury go from three to six weeks to four months. It was too much to risk.”
Djokovic leads Musetti 5-1 in their series, but on Friday, they will play one another for the first time on grass courts.
The other semifinal will feature defending champion Carlos Alcaraz facing off against fifth seed Daniil Medvedev.
