On Day 10 of Wimbledon, after many rainy days, the roofs were open, and the sun was shining, the sky a deep blue with white floating clouds.
On Court No. 1, Lorenzo Musetti, the talented 22-year old Italian, reached his first Grand Slam semifinal, defeating 26-year-old top American Taylor Fritz in five sets, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, in three hours and 27 minutes.
The stylish Italian, with his longish brown hair peeking out under his backwards white ball cap and his tattoo of his heart activity with a tennis racquet in the middle as “tennis is in his heartbeat,” got off to a slow start, getting down quickly 4-1 in the first set.
But he began to find his game, with all its creative variety: deft drop shots, high topspin lobs, slicing and coming over his beautiful one-handed backhand, massive topspin forehands.
Photo: KEYSTONE/AP/Mosa’ab Elshamy
Fritz, though, stayed close, with his awe-inspiring serve and forehand, digging deep and winning the fourth set, after it seemed that Musetti had all the momentum.
In the fifth set, Musetti stayed calm and composed and played perhaps his best set of tennis ever in the match of his life.
In his post-match press conference, Fritz said: “Yeah, I think it was a tough match. He played well on some really big points. I don’t know. I didn’t serve as well as I probably needed to or I guess as well as I have been.
“Again, it was pretty windy today, so I felt like it was tough to kind of get that, like, rhythm or timing or feel because it would constantly change every time I switched sides.
“He played especially well in the fifth set.”
Fritz said, “When the roof is closed, the conditions are so nice. There’s no wind. You always know where the ball’s going to be. You get in such a good rhythm.
“Now I’m playing someone who’s slicing and moving the ball around with also the wind as well. It’s tough. I felt like probably the biggest thing was when I’m playing someone that plays like him, I really need to be able to set up and be able to generate power, like really pinpoint where I want to hit the shot. I have to be very accurate because you’re not going to be able to hit the ball as hard off of the dead slices.
“It’s important to be able to be accurate. It was just very tough to do, to be the one that’s trying to, like, attack and place the ball when I’m getting these slices that are just moving all around before I hit them. I’m always moving my feet. I feel like I have to be so much more handsy with the ball.
“I just made so many mistakes in mostly the third set because I just felt like it took a lot to finish the point. I think it’s favoring to the person that wants to run and chip when it’s a bit windy and working against the person that’s trying to go big and pick out spots. He did what he was doing really well.”
Musetti, in his post-match press conference, when asked about the terrific variety in his game, said: “That’s probably something that I say I found it more—how can I say—worse for the other guys to be having not each shot the same. Especially like with a good baseliner like Taylor, if you play every time flat, I cannot win a point.
“I mean, I’m playing his game. So probably it was the strategy to try to mix every ball and try to lead the game. Certain point of the match I felt from the baseline I could, let’s say, win every point. He was, let’s say, not in a good position with all my variation.
“It’s certainly something that I’m really working on it. Since I was a kid, I always didn’t like to do the same stuff on the court, not to be, let’s say, mono-automatic on the court. Probably it’s a good help on grass, and I’m using this week.”
Of his next opponent—the seven-time Wimbledon singles champion Novak Djokovic—the Italian said: “Of course, I played him many times in different stage, even big ones like of course two times in French Open. I beated him one time in Monte-Carlo. Then I lost all the others.
“I have to say with Nole, after the match I always finished with a lesson. Of course, the last match was really an intense match from both players and really stressful match.
“So, what I have to say, against him you are probably more stressed because he’s probably the best player ever or one of the best players ever.
“You walk on court with a different mentality. As I said before, I think if I play in a certain way, I could have my shot in the next round.”
