Lorenzo Musetti has reached his first major quarterfinal as the Italian secured a spot in the last eight for the first time, defeating French lucky loser Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 at Wimbledon On Monday.
Celebrating his 21st birthday, Mpetshi Perricard, buoyed by confidence, had previously overcome Sebastian Korda, Yoshihito Nishioka, and Emil Ruusuvuori, delivering 105 aces in his first three matches of the tournament.
However, in their inaugural Lexus ATP Head2Head encounter, Musetti, the 25th seed, broke Mpetshi Perricard’s serve five times and dominated the baseline rallies, committing a mere eight unforced errors to his opponent’s 42.
After a two-hour and five-minute battle on Court No. 2, Musetti joined World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals, marking the first instance in history that multiple Italian men have reached this stage at SW19. Musetti is now the seventh Italian man to achieve this feat.
The 22-year-old is set to face either Alexander Zverev or Taylor Fritz on Wednesday.
Mpetshi Perricard, standing at 6’8” and known for his powerful serves exceeding 145mph, aimed to be the first lucky loser to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal. He has risen 14 places to No. 44 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
Meanwhile, on Court No. 1, Australian Alex de Minaur secured his first Wimbledon quarterfinal berth by defeating #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in a dynamic match.
The ninth seed showcased a vigorous performance, outmaneuvering Fils with his agility and precise flat groundstrokes. Despite losing a 4-2 lead in the third set, the 25-year-old regained control to clinch the victory in four sets, making up for his previous defeat.
