Don’t talk to Taylor Fritz about Grand Slam quarter-finals. Especially don’t talk to him about Wimbledon quarter-finals.
Two years ago he faced Rafael Nadal here for a place in the last four, and was crushed as the Spaniard punished his own body so severely to achieve victory that the win became pyrrhic, forcing Nadal to concede a semi-final walkover to Nick Kyrgios.
What Fritz would have given to be fighting the Australian for a place in the final, instead of gloomily catching the flight home.
But come 2024, it was meant to be a different story. Now with three Grand Slam quarter-finals to his name, he arrived here as the first three-time champion in Eastbourne tournament history, he sealed his place in the last eight with a gritty five-set turnaround triumph over Alexander Zverev.
By contrast, his latest quarter-final opponent, the No.25 seed Lorenzo Musetti, had not defeated a top 20 player at Wimbledon in three attempts. So when Fritz cantered off to a set and a break up, the American was in business, the last four calling his name.
Yet it all turned in the middle of the second set. Fritz bafflingly opted for a redundant ’tweener to gift break point, and then bundled a backhand long. He unravelled for two sets, recovered to force the decider, but could do little as first-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist Musetti kept his cool to triumph 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in just under three-and-a-half hours.
In the last four, the Italian will face Novak Djokovic, whom he has beaten just once in six attempts. It will be his first time on the Centre Court.
Even so, Musetti is not daunted. "If I play a certain way, I could have my shot against Nole," he said.
“I don’t think I yet realise what I’ve done,” a stunned Musetti said. “Taylor was in great shape and I feel I played a fantastic match. I kept the best for the end.
“Taylor was leading the game in the first and I couldn’t return well so I changed my attitude. That made the difference. Hopefully on Friday I’ll have the same one. I expect a big fight but I’m an ambitious guy and I like to be challenged.”
This victory took Musetti to 12 out of 14 wins on the current grass swing. But before facing Fritz, his second round victory over world No.37 Luciano Darderi was the highest-ranked opponent he had dispatched in four career visits.
"Except for the birth of my son, this is the best day of my life," he told reporters.
If the 22-year-old was going to get anywhere against Fritz, then patently he would have to threaten the American’s mighty serve – broken just twice in 76 games coming into this match.
Settling into their seats, and still getting accustomed to the freaky sight of blue sky overhead rather than the closed roof, the No.1 Court fans were doubly startled when the opening moments of this match produced two break points on Fritz’s serve – rare currency this Fortnight.
But when Musetti flubbed them, it felt as if a crucial opportunity had slipped through his grasp. Her Majesty the Queen switched seats from the Centre Court Royal Box to keep tabs on this one, in time to see an assured Fritz creating sufficient momentum to close out the first set and break at the start of the second.
Quite why Fritz opted for his unnecessary ’tweener at 3-4 is anyone’s guess. It didn’t look immediately fatal because with the set in his grasp Musetti fell short again. But in the tie-break he got the job done. Fritz should have been two sets up and instead was all square.
Frustrated, self-imposed errors were heaping up around him and he emerged from the third set with a near-surreal 25% of points from his first serve.
Into the fourth and suddenly Fritz was feeling it again, his serve restored. The match was into the decider.
Yet abruptly Fritz was all out of ideas, just as Musetti decided amnesia was his friend. Instead of dwelling on the fourth, he played as if it never happened, romping away into new career territory, leaving Fritz once again with what might have been.
