No matter whether Lorenzo Musetti’s milestone Wimbledon heads into the trophy showdown, Simone Tartarini wants to set this achievement in stone at Circolo Tennis Spezia.

“Lorenzo is making crazy results, I have to make a statue of him,” Musetti’s long-standing coach told wimbledon.com with a grin.

Is it a joke?

It doesn’t seem so – Tartarini likes the suggestion of Musetti’s trademark single-handed backhand as the pose.

The duo began working together when Musetti was an eight-year-old at Tartarini’s club in La Spezia, Italy. The “long road” from there to the All England Club brings tears to his eyes.

“For me, I cried after the (Taylor) Fritz match. It was very emotional for me. I was just a tennis teacher and we see our junior on No.1 Court at Wimbledon,” he said, reflecting on the quarter-final five-set thriller on Wednesday.

“From hitting against a wall at our club, the dream was always to play at Wimbledon. Tomorrow (Friday), to play on Centre Court, on this stage, is amazing. I can’t wait to see that view with Lorenzo in it.”

That Centre Court occasion is simply box office, with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic taking a 5-1 head-to-head into battle.

“I think it will be a great match because Lorenzo likes to play against Novak,” Tartarini said.

“Novak’s serve isn’t the fastest, Lorenzo likes to rally too. The tactics won’t change from before. He’ll need to return well, mix in the slice, hit his forehand near the line.

“He needs to change it up with every ball. Give Djokovic rhythm and it’s finished, Novak will smoke us.

“Lorenzo will enter the court with more conviction that he can win. Yes he had a win (Monte Carlo Masters 2023), but those other matches he didn’t arrive with the needed confidence to play Novak. I feel tomorrow will be different.”

Back in the homeland, Musetti’s mother used to drive her son 30 minutes each way from Carrara, in Tuscany, to La Spezia as the Italian formed an inseparable partnership with Tartarini.

So much so that Musetti refers to him as a second father.

“In the same way, I would say he’s like a son to me,” Tartarini said.

“In 14 years together, I’ve never, ever had a problem with Lorenzo. As a kid, practising every day, now, always a big fighter, hard worker. I’ve never had to tell him. He’s always had that focus. Lorenzo is a good boy.

“He’s always been open to new ideas. Often I tried to change small details, but never a problem. He’s an open book with me.

“For example, when Lorenzo was under-10s, he’d only hit backhand slice. So at 12 I told Lorenzo, ‘For a year don’t hit slice, only top spin.’ I wanted him to learn quickly. It’s very important because tennis is moving on all the time.”

From a child “who could play so easily”, the duo worked side by side all the way to the professional ranks. Two titles, a career-high ranking of No.15, Musetti has been on the fringes of the upper echelons since his maiden ATP tour victory in Rome four years ago.

Fast forward to the current grass court campaign and the 22-year-old has soared with a semi-final spot in Stuttgart, prior to a hot-shot laden journey as Queen’s Club finalist. What about in SW19? The world No.25 has chalked up his first Grand Slam semi-final in style.

“For me, Lorenzo plays the same tennis as two or three years ago. The main difference is the mentality,” Tartarini said.

“Sometimes during the match he could scream too much, lose his focus, be taken by things outside the match. Now, the last two months, Lorenzo hasn’t always played his very best, but has stayed in the match.

“It’s very important because when he was younger, he was this super talent, big wins at the start, but he had an amazing top and then big drops.

“With his current focus, his solutions he finds in matches, I think by the time he is 24, he will be ‘made’, his complete player. I see him within another year getting a top 10 ranking.”

From Tartarini’s perspective there’s been a recent shift in Musetti’s outlook.

“Life has changed so much for him, becoming a father (in March 2024, when son Ludovico was born). It’s not easy at his age. Now, he’s calm, relaxed at work, even with a child at home.

“For me, it gives him an extra focus, an extra motivation to fight for every point. To become a great player, you have to also become a great man.”

Musetti has three tattoos. One is on the right side of his chest, the same quote which Tartarini has on his right bicep.

It reads, ‘Il meglio deve ancora venire’, which translates to ‘The best is yet to come’. Team Musetti will hope the best is coming on Friday and even better on Sunday.

“We got it after his first title in Hamburg (2022), beating (Carlos) Alcaraz in the final,” Tartarini said.

“Maybe if Lorenzo wins Wimbledon we can get another tattoo together. Maybe the trophy, but I like some words, I don’t know why. We’ll see.”