Lorenzo Musetti explained what he changed to defeat Taylor Fritz and reach his first Grand Slam semi-final.
The Italian has enjoyed an excellent grass court season and he has continued his momentum at the All-England Club.
He needed five sets to move past the American and book a spot in the last four where he will face seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic.
If Musetti wants to advance to his first major final he will have to take out the player who has won more Grand Slams than any other player.
What did Lorenzo Musetti do to defeat Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon?
Musetti found himself a set down to Fritz but fought back well to take the second set.
A superb third set saw him take the lead but after the fourth via a break in the eighth game, Fritz sent the match into a decider.
But Musetti raised his level and conceded just one game in set five to claim a 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win on Court One.
When asked what enabled him to turn the match in his favour, the 25th seed said: “At the start of the match Taylor was really leading the game, especially with his serve and I couldn’t return well.
“In the second set I had a big reaction after breaking at the start and that changed my mind, my attitude. That probably made the difference and hopefully on Friday I will have the same one.”
Lorenzo Musetti reaches first Grand Slam semi-final and will face Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon
Musetti’s use of the slice backhand was a key shot in his victory over Fritz, as was his first serve, behind which he won 76% of the points.
This allowed him to be attacking in return games and he converted six of his 13 break point opportunities in the five-set tussle.
His celebrations will be short-lived however, and as the Italian is set to face Djokovic in the last four, a man he has to lost five times before.
Their most recent meeting came as recently as the French Open, when the Serbian prevailed in a 7-5, 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 match that finished at 03:07 am local time.
“I’ve had many, many tough losses,” Musetti said. “Especially of course the best results before this week were made in the French Open. Especially also with Nole, two times in the fifth.
“I think I made, of course, a step forward in maturity and experience. Probably that losses with all big champions made me think, made me work harder.”
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