Taylor Fritz has now lost two quarter-final matches within a month to Italian dynamo Lorenzo Musetti.
The old tricks simply didn’t work, with even the newer ones not doing any favours for Taylor Fritz.
The American was outplayed by Italy’s rising star Lorenzo Musetti, who with compatriot Jannik Sinner’s absence, is their sole hope for a medal in the men’s singles.
Subjected to the smart backhand and supreme movement on the clay, Fritz was eventually outgunned, losing 6-4, 7-5.
His mixed doubles exploits with Coco Gauff also came to an end as the pair bowed out in a desperately close 10-8 super tie-break defeat to Canadian duo Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriela Dabrowski.
What tactic did Lorenzo Musetti nullify to defeat Taylor Fritz?
Just hitting a single ace during the defeat, the American’s major weapon was effectively made redundant.
Despite Fritz having a steady and still powerful game from the baseline, the limited effect his serve had provided major problems.
“Today I went to the net a lot of times,” explained the American to Ubitennis, “sometimes it worked, other times it didn’t.
“I beat him the first two times we met, but since then he has improved a lot. He beat me in Monte Carlo, in Wimbledon, and then he beat me here.
He is capable of doing some things that allow him to neutralize my game. For example, very often when I was in control of the point he was able to come back.
Fritz continued by outlining the determining factor in the defeat: “And above all he returned, neutralized, many of my serves. A lot of players wouldn’t be able to do that. As a player he’s improved a lot lately.”
Taylor Fritz cannot run away from this quarter-final curse
‘It happens to others too’, might be the only consolation Fritz can take away.
At grand slam level, Fritz has visited four quarter-finals in three majors (twice at Wimbledon), losing every single one of them.
Fortunately for Fritz, Andrey Rublev has seen 10 quarter-finals slip away having also never progressed beyond the last eight.
The big-serving American has picked up Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells two years ago and is certainly no one-trick pony.
However, with the talent becoming so evenly spread from all players circulating round the top 10, Fritz will need to act fast if he is to stem this concerning statistic.
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