Lorenzo Musetti has broken new ground in his career after sealing his place in the last eight of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at Wimbledon.
Musetti, who is seeded 25th in the draw, rallied back from a set down to oust French lucky loser Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2, who was playing on his 21st birthday. It is the second time he has gotten the better of his opponent on the grass after also triumphing in straight sets in Stuttgart last month. The Italian joins compatriot Jannik Sinner in the last eight at the All England Club to make it the first time two players from the country have reached this stage of the Grand Slam.
“It’s tough for me to get emotional but I think today I will. I’ve been dreaming of this moment since I was a kid,” said Musetti.
“I always had a beautiful family who supported me in chasing my dream, it’s tough to speak sorry.
“It’s such a big day for me and I’m really happy and proud of this win against a tough opponent. I struggled a little at the beginning against a big serve. I’m a little bit shaking still but at the end it’s a really phenomenal day for me.”
The world No.25 was given a stern test early on but utilised his experience and capitalised on some mistakes from his younger opponent to turn the match around. The aggressive play saw Musetti hit 34 winners which was cancelled out by his 41 unforced errors.
Musetti’s Wimbledon breakthrough follows what has been a solid grass swing. In Stuttgart he reached the semi-finals and then at Queen’s in London he was runner-up to Tommy Paul. Until this year, the 22-year-old had never contested a Tour final on the surface.
Meanwhile, Perricard can take plenty of positives from his run at Wimbledon on what was his debut. Earlier in the tournament, he stunned 20th seed Seb Korda before going on to beat Yoshihito Nishioka and Emil Ruusuvuori. He is projected to rise in the ATP rankings to inside the top 50 for the first time in his career when the standings are updated next week.
Musetti will next play either Taylor Fritz or Alexander Zverev. He beat Fritz earlier this year in Monte Carlo but is yet to get the better of Zverev.
