Fittingly, it came with a drop shot.
Lorenzo Mossetti puts a chipped ball into the net in that ridiculous spot that makes you think you’re going to get there, but you know you won’t.
Taylor Fritz knew he couldn’t.
Mosetti has booked a place in the quarter-finals.Credit: Eddie Jim
It was the third point in a row and Misty played the shot to win the match.
Serving for the match, Mosetti hit ace, drop shot, drop shot, drop shot. Game, set match
And just like that with Joker’s hit, he claimed a place in the quarter-finals to play Joker, Novak Djokovic.
That’s yesterday’s story, today it was about satisfyingly reaching a quarter-final at a hard-court Grand Slam for the first time – he’s made it at Wimbledon and Roland Garros but not here or in the US.
Taylor Fritz is out of the Australian Open.Credit: Eddie Jim
For two players who are separated by so little in the world rankings (Fritz’s 9 to Musetti’s 5). The difference in class was much wider.
This was partly because Fritz appeared to be hampered by injury – he came into the tournament managing a knee injury and started the match alongside his side.
He didn’t move freely throughout the match, but given how low his game was and how well Museti was out of it, it was difficult for the Italian to play some great tennis.
Fritz is known as a player with a big serve and Mosetti knew late last year that his serve has a soft spot.
This is Museti’s best performance in AO.Credit: Eddie Jim
On Monday, Musetti rolled 13 aces to Fritz’s 10. His fastest serve was 3.2 km/h faster than Fritz. He went on to 68 percent of Fritz’s 60 first-timers.
This is only said to reinforce how a weakness proved to be a strength for Museti that day. But it was his usual strength that was just as important in the game.
Those strengths were light and shadowy in his game, as evidenced by those three consecutive drop shots to close out the match. Some players seem like they are moving fast and no, Mosetti is the opposite.
He doesn’t seem like he’s working hard, but he goes about everything with minimal apparent effort.
This meant that Fritz was never in command of the points even in the situations where he should have been, the moments where he was pushing Mosetti back and forth across the court.
Lorenzo Mosetti in action.Credit: Eddie Jim
The Italian would get to the ball and slice a ball into a corner that had no right to go. It has a De Muir feel about it. Next, he plays Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.
“Novak. We’ve played so many times and every time it’s a lesson,” Mosetti said.
Ten times they have actually played and only once has Musetti won – it was on clay in 2023. Being here on Djokovic’s court is another matter.
Mosetti def Fritz 6-2, 7-5 6-4.
