Lorenzo Musetti blows past Fritz to set up blockbuster meeting with Novak Djokovic

Lorenzo Musetti achieved an imposing straight-sets victory over Taylor Fritz to advance to the Australian Open quarterfinals for the first time in his career. The Italian secured his first career win against a top-10 player and guaranteed his best campaign in Melbourne so far.

The match was an imposing victory for the world No. 5, who claimed the win in just two hours and three minutes by a score of 6–2, 7–5, 6–4. It was a duel in which he clearly outperformed his rival, winning 84% of points on first serve compared to 64% for the American — in addition to winning 68% of points on second serve against Fritz’s 56%.

The Italian moves back into the world No. 3 position in the live rankings and will face 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals — in search of his first semifinal in Melbourne.

It was an imposing match from Musetti, sending a message to his next opponent that he has everything needed to be considered a title contender. He faced Fritz — in a new duel between top-10 players in the tournament — and the Italian was far more consistent than his rival on serve.

In the first set, Musetti did not take long to secure his first break, while he did not concede a single opportunity to Fritz. Musetti won 86% of points on first serve compared to just 40% for Fritz. He claimed 81% of service points overall, while also producing eight winners against only four from Fritz.

After an opening stretch in which Fritz struggled with his serve, Musetti took advantage of the momentum and won five games in a row — including two breaks in the process — to comfortably take the set 6–2.

In the second set, things seemed to feel more even between both players. After several games, both Musetti and Fritz had opportunities, but neither was able to capitalise on them.

Even so, in general terms, both players held their service games without too many complications, without facing break points and with rather short points — without extended rallies. Fritz managed to move ahead 5–4 when Musetti was due to serve, and it was at that moment that Musetti took control of the momentum, winning 12 consecutive points — three games in a row — and closing out the set 7–5.

In the third set, Musetti did not lower his level and things became almost impossible to turn around for his rival. Musetti secured an early break and from that point on focused on holding his serve for the remainder of the set.

There were moments in which Fritz had no trouble holding serve, but he was also unable to do much from the baseline. Musetti landed 77% of his first serves and won 80% of those points to maintain his service games through the rest of the set and finish sealing the victory with a comfortable 6–2, 7–5, 6–4 scoreline after two hours and four minutes.

The comfortable result also allows Musetti to advance without an excessive physical demand. Just over two hours played (2:04) and a straight-sets win — securing four breaks and without conceding his serve. The Italian arrives in a strong state of confidence to face 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic.

Nole, meanwhile, comes in well rested after the retirement of his opponent, the 20-year-old Jakub Mensik, who suffered an abdominal injury and was unable to take the court against Djokovic. In this way, Musetti and Djokovic meet again just two months after their most recent encounter at the Cincinnati Championships, where Djokovic prevailed in three sets to claim the title.