Lorenzo Musetti faces a seeded opponent for the first time at this year's Wimbledon when he battles a buzzing Taylor Fritz in Wednesday's quarter-final.
The American overcame a two-set disadvantage against Alexander Zverev to claim success in the rip-roaring fourth-round five-setter, and he aims to make the first Slam semi-final of his career by defeating his Italian opponent.
Match preview
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While Musetti has probably benefitted from an undemanding draw at this year's Championships, the Italian deserves credit for reaching his first-ever Slam quarter-final.
The No. 25 seed overcame world Constant Lestienne (No. 92), Luciano Darderi (No. 37) and Francisco Comesana (No. 122) before success over Lucky Loser Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (No. 58) last time out.
While the Italian nearly suffered a shock round-two exit against compatriot Darderi, he claimed sets four and five to advance and further four-set triumphs in the next two ties have brought the 25-year-old to this stage of a Slam for the first time.
Having never gone beyond the third round in previous attempts at the All England Club — first-round eliminations in consecutive years and a round-three exit in 2023 — the ongoing run is undoubtedly commendable for the No. 25 seed, who has built on his run to the final at the Queen's Club Championships where he lost to Tommy Paul.
Sceptics will point to Musetti's dropped sets against opponents he was probably expected to win convincingly as a sign of weakness to be exploited, but the first-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist seeks to silence those naysayers on Wednesday.
Standing in his way of a historic run to the semis is Fritz, fresh off Monday's battling fourth-round success over Zverev.
The German had not dropped a set in previous matches at SW19 and looked set to continue that streak against the American, only for the world No. 12 to mount a roaring comeback to eliminate the fourth seed.
The 26-year-old's five-setter was the 35th at this year's tournament, breaking the Open Era Wimbledon record of 34 (1969), as he became the first American to reach the last eight at the Australian Open and the Championships in a calendar year since Andy Roddick in 2009.
This run is not new to Fritz, who made it to the quarters two years back, but advancing to the last four would be a first experience for the four-time quarter-finalist — Wimbledon (2022 and 2024), US Open (2023) and Australian Open (2024).
Having defeated seeded players in consecutive rounds, the American aims to make it three on the trot against the No. 25 seed to make a first semi-final Grand Slam.
Tournament so far
Lorenzo Musetti :
First round: vs. Constant Lestienne 4-6 7-6[4] 6-2 6-2
Second round: vs. Luciano Darderi 6-4 4-6 6-7[5] 6-4 6-4
Third round: vs. Francisco Comesana 6-2 6-7[4] 7-6[3] 6-3
Round of 16: vs. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-2
Taylor Fritz:
First round: vs. Christopher O'Connell 6-1 6-2 6-4
Second round: vs. Arthur Rinderknech 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-4
Third round: vs. Alejandro Tabilo 7-6[3] 6-3 7-5
Round of 16: vs. Alexander Zverev 4-6 6-7[4] 6-4 7-6[3] 6-3
Head To Head
Wimbledon (2022) - First round: Fritz 6-4 6-4 6-3
Davis Cup Finals (2022) - Quarter-final: Fritz 7-6(8) 6-3
Monte-Carlo Masters (2024) - Round of 64: Musetti 6-4 6-4
Both players have met three times on the ATP Tour, with the American edging the Italian with two wins to one.
Musetti won the recent meeting at this year's Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 event in straight sets, ending a two-match losing run against the 26-year-old American.
Instructively, Fritz clinched a straight-sets victory in the players' only meeting on grass — a first-round match at Wimbledon two years back — even though the stakes at the time were not as high.
We say: Fritz to win in four sets
Having gone through the draw against ostensibly weaker opponents, it remains to be seen how Musetti fares when he competes against a seeded opponent.
Wednesday represents a huge opportunity for Fritz to make his first-ever Slam semi-final, and the motivated American should take it at the fifth time of asking after four previous last-eight failures.
