Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti called it a “magic day” after beating American Taylor Fritz in five sets to book a place in the semi-finals against seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic.
The 22-year-old Musetti was down a set and a break of serve but came back to win 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals.
“I’m really happy to reach my first semi-final here,” said Musetti, who described Djokovic as “a legend, especially at Wimbledon.”
“I expect it to be a very big fight. It’s one of the toughest challenges on the tour, but I’m an ambitious person and I like challenges. I’ll give it 100 percent and see what happens.”
When asked what the win means to him, Musetti added: “After the birth of my son, this is the second most important win of my career. Of course, in my career, this is the best day of my life.”
The 37-year-old Djokovic reached the semi-finals without playing a quarter-final match after his scheduled opponent, ninth seed Alex de Minaur of Australia, withdrew with a hip injury.
Musetti’s record against Djokovic, who he will face on Centre Court on Friday, is not good: He has just one win in six meetings with the Frenchman, losing in the last 16 at the 2021 French Open and in the third round in May.
Entertainer Musetti scores career-best win
Fritz, the 13th seed, came into the match on a roll since defeating fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev in the round of 16.
Despite a packed Court 1 and an open roof, Fritz maintained his momentum, saving two break points in the opening game and then scoring the deciding break in the fourth game.
He also broke the Italian’s serve at the start of the second set, but the athletic Musetti, with his attacking style and wide range of shots, quickly regained the break and showed his fighting spirit.
Musetti missed a set point in the 10th game of the second set to send the match into a tiebreaker, but the 25th seed took a 4-1 lead and held on to it.
Musetti dominated the third set in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal match, but Fritz fought back in the fourth set as well, playing his best tennis of the match to reach the final.
Given how things had gone in the previous four sets, it was surprising to see Musetti open up a 5-0 lead as he approached the semi-finals. Fritz slipped and may have injured his knee as the Italian approached match point, but he managed to hold on for one more point, which Musetti won to seal a stunning victory.
Fritz has lost in all four Grand Slam quarterfinals since losing at this stage at Wimbledon two years ago, the U.S. Open last year and the Australian Open in January.
Since the Open era began in 1968, the United States has produced more men’s champions than any other country with 15 wins, but Fritz’s loss marks another year without a U.S. winner, with the last men’s champion being Pete Sampras in 2000.
Musetti’s rise marks another great moment for Italian tennis: Although Jannik Sinner is the current world number one and Matteo Berrettini lost to Djokovic in the 2021 final, Wimbledon has never seen an Italian men’s singles champion.
Will that change this year?
