Wonderful Musetti: beats Fritz and joins Djokovic in Wimbledon semifinals
Lorenzo Musetti-Taylor Fritz 3-6 7-6 6-2 3-6 6-1
A wonderful Lorenzo Musetti flies to the semifinals at Wimbledon for the first time in his career. The Carrara-born player, in fact, overcame in five sets the American Taylor Fritz, number 12 in the ATP ranking and number 13 in the seeding, with the final score of 3-6 7-6 6-2 3-6 6-1 after almost three and a half hours of battle.
Musetti actually got off to a bad start and gave up serve in the third game (1-3). The Italian could not handle the pace and accelerations of the American, who confirmed the lead (4-1), conceded crumbs on serve and kept the break until the final 6-3.
The second set does not start well either for the Carrara player, who loses his serve in the opening set. Here forò comes the immediate reaction of Lorenzo, who signs the counter-break. Musetti then goes up as high as 5-3 but called to serve for the set, gives up the serve to zero. The Azure, however, is not discouraged and plays a great tie-break, won by 7 points to 5.
The third set è a domination of the Carrara player who, galvanized by having evened the set count, scratches the break in the opening game and doubles it in the fifth game (4-1). The constant changes of pace offered by the azure sent Fritz into a tailspin, who succumbed 2-6 and found himself down a set.
In the fourth partial è the fifth game to make the difference: Fritz saves four break points, three of them consecutive, and punishes Musetti, who takes the blow, in the eighth game, going up 5-3 and serve. The U.S. doesn't let himself be begged and closes the score on the final 6-3, sending everything back to the fifth and decisive set.
The last partial è a real solo of Musetti: the blue immediately takes the break thanks to a fantastic winning longline abnormal right (2-0), confirms the lead (3-0) and wins another game in response (4-0), flying in an instant on 5-0. At that point, ahead 5-1, è a mere formalityà to close on serve, thanks to a winning first.
Musetti thus treats himself to a historic semifinal at the Championships where he will face world number two Novak Djokovic, who benefited from Alex De Minaur’s withdrawal, entering the penultimate act without playing.
