Lorenzo Musetti of Italy celebrates after defeating Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France in their fourth round match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Monday, July 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
LONDON (AP) – Lorenzo Musetti just needed a little time to adjust.
To life and to 6-foot-8 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s serve.
Musetti advanced to the first Grand Slam quarterfinals of his career on Monday at Wimbledon by beating the 21-year-old Frenchman 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.
The No. 25-seeded Musetti dropped to the grass when Mpetshi Perricard sent a forehand long to end a 30-stroke rally and the match. His back to the ground, the 22-year-old Italian’s chest heaved.
After an up-and-down season, Musetti is on quite a roll a the All England Club. He became a father in March.
“It’s been almost a year, really challenging with a lot of new experiences with the pregnancy of my girlfriend, and becoming a father. A lot of things happened and changed,” Musetti said in an on-court interview.
“I needed more time to find a balance on everything.”
He needed a set to find a balance on the hard-serving Mpetshi Perricard, who amassed 105 aces in three victories to reach the fourth round. Monday was his birthday.
Musetti converted five of 15 break point opportunities.
“Such a big day for me. I’m really happy and proud of this win against a really tough opponent. I struggled a little bit at the beginning – huge serve,” he said. “You can imagine how tough it is to return on that. I’m a little bit shaking still.”
Musetti will next face either No. 4 Alexander Zverev or No. 13 Taylor Fritz.
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