Wimbledon: Musetti gets the better of big-serving Perricard

25th seeded Italian reaches first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career
LONDON: Lorenzo Musetti lay on his back savouring the moment out on Wimbledon's Court No. 2, the gifted 22-year-old was finally a Grand Slam quarterfinalist. The skies, grey and heavy, threatened, but the Italian had delivered in two hours and three minutes. When Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard's forehand sailed long on match point, a bubble had burst, Musetti was overcome by emotion.
Musetti, a stylist pro, whose strokes, particularly the single-handed backhand, ought to make textbooks should tennis be taught in schools, stopped the run of the 21-year-old birthday boy 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. Once he got a handle on the tournament ace leader's serve (115 in four rounds), he broke Mpetshi Perricard five times in the match.
"I've been dreaming of this moment since I was a kid," he said. "I always had a really beautiful family that always supported me chasing my dream. It's tough to speak." The Italian, and girlfriend Veronica Confalonieri, who welcomed their first child, son Ludovico in March, was overcome by emotion when talking about his family - father Francesco, a marble producer, and mother Sabrina, a secretary, whose sacrifices pave the way for Musetti's career.
The world No. 25, who has a tattoo of an anchor on his right forearm on which he has 'family' inscribed, said his parents were the reason he is.
"They protect me in a certain way," he said of his family. "Always believe in me, that keeps me with a positive mindset on my future. They weren't making doubts on my future, on what I was doing. They were always supporting me." Musetti pointed out that as a sport tennis made a lot of demands on families, on their time and wallets. That despite the fact that the Italian federation was generous with help, and he was lucky to find sponsors early. "My family and my coach, Simone Tartarini, have been together since I was eight, nine. It's been more than 11-12 years. It's something rarely seen on the Tour," he said.
"My mother was always taking me around like a taxi driver. I was born in Carrara (a commune in Central Italy). We practice in La Spezia (a port city in Liguria)," he explained. "It's 40 minutes (one way) by car. I know probably in London it's not that much. A small village like Carrara, 30-40 minutes to go, 30-40 minutes to return for somebody, who was working, was a huge sacrifice." In other fourth-round clashes, American Taylor Fritz produced a stunning turnaround from two sets down to upset fourth seeded German Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-3.
Aussie Alex de Minaur advanced to his maiden Wimbledon quarterfinals, beating Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Among the women, the No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina and No. 21 seed Elina Svitolina set up a quarterfinal meeting for Wednesday. Rybakina, the 2022 champion here, advanced after the No. 17 seed Anna Kalinskaya retired from the match due to a right wrist injury. Rybakina led 6-3, 3-0 when Kalinskaya called a stop to her campaign. Svitolina, a Wimbledon semifinalist last year, beat the 42nd-ranked Wang Xinyu 6-2, 6-1 in 55 minutes. Jelena Ostapenko, the No. 13 seed, raced past Kazakh Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 6-3 in 68 minutes to reach her third Wimbledon quarterfinals, and first since 2018.