Lorenzo Musetti reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon on Wednesday with a five-set victory over Taylor Fritz, setting up a clash with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic.
Italian 25th seed Musetti triumphed 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 against the 13th-seeded American.
Djokovic was earlier handed a free pass into a 13th Wimbledon semi-final when Alex de Minaur withdrew from their scheduled last-eight tie with a hip injury.
“I probably played my best tennis at the end today,” said Musetti.
Djokovic has a 5-1 winning record over 22-year-old Musetti, including a come-from-behind five-set victory at the French Open last month.
Lorenzo Musetti also took Novak Djokovic the distance in their first meeting at Roland Garros in 2021, when the Italian won the opening two sets of their last-16 tie before injury scuppered his hopes in the decider.
“Djokovic knows the stadiums here better than me,” said Musetti.
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“He’s a legend everywhere and has done unthinkable things. We’ve played lots of times and I expect a huge fight.
“It’s the toughest challenge in tennis but I am an ambitious guy and I like to be challenged. I will give 100 percent.”
On Wednesday, Musetti came back from dropping the first set for the third time at Wimbledon this year after Fritz broke in the fourth game.
The Italian, who plays with a one-handed backhand, levelled on a fourth set point in the second set tie-break and was dominant in the third, breaking the American in the first and fifth games.
Fritz had come back from two sets down to knock out Alexander Zverev in the last 16 but showed no sign of immediately wilting, levelling the contest in the fourth set.
However, Lorenzo Musetti was undaunted, sweeping into a 5-0 lead in the decider on his way to victory.
READ: Novak Djokovic into Wimbledon semi-finals due to Alex de Minaur injury