Musetti makes all-round adjustments to reach last eight
Lorenzo Musetti just needed a little time to adjust, to life and to 6ft 8in Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s serve.
Musetti advanced to the first Grand Slam quarterfinals of his career at Wimbledon by beating the 21-year-old Frenchman 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-2.
The No. 25-seeded Musetti dropped to the grass when Mpetshi Perricard sent a forehand long to end a 30-stroke rally and the match. His back to the ground, the 22-year-old Italian’s chest heaved.
After an up-and-down season, Musetti is on quite a roll a the All England Club. He became a father in March.
“It’s been almost a year, really challenging with a lot of new experiences with the pregnancy of my girlfriend, and becoming a father. A lot of things happened and changed,” Musetti said in an on-court interview. “I needed more time to find a balance on everything.”
He needed a set to find a balance on the hard-serving Mpetshi Perricard, who amassed 105 aces in three victories to reach the fourth round. Monday was his birthday. Musetti converted five of 15 break point opportunities.
“Such a big day for me. I’m really happy and proud of this win against a really tough opponent. I struggled a little bit at the beginning, huge serve,” he said. “You can imagine how tough it is to return on that. I’m a little bit shaking still.”
Musetti now faces No. 4 Alexander Zverev or No. 13 Taylor Fritz.
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