Lorenzo Musetti gets past Taylor Fritz to become the first Italian man to reach Olympics quarterfinals in 21st Century

Musetti has defeated Fritz for the second time this month.

Lorenzo Musetti gets past Taylor Fritz to become the first Italian man to reach Olympics quarterfinals in 21st Century

Lorenzo Musetti (via Imago)

Lorenzo Musetti defeated Taylor Fritz in straight sets to reach the last eight at the Paris Olympics. This is the second time in a month that the Italian has triumphed over the American, having won their duel in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. 

Italian tennis is currently at its best with their players dominating both the ATP and WTA circuits in recent years. It all started with Matteo Berrettini reached the Wimbledon final in 2021 and also secured a career-high ranking of World No. 6 just months later. Jannik Sinner then took the reins, becoming the first Italian to be ranked World No. 1 after his incredible title-winning at the Australian Open this year. He still stands on the peak but injuries have hampered his momentum.

Musetti is currently Italy’s frontrunner on the big stage after his semifinal run at Wimbledon this year. His form has extended into the Summer Games where he took out the higher-ranked Fritz to become the first Italian man to reach the quarterfinal at the Olympics since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

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Lenzo Furlan was the last Italian to have achieved this feat. He reached the last eight in Atlanta where he went down 1-6, 5-7 to eventual bronze medalist Leander Paes. Musetti will take on either Alexander Zverev or Alexei Popyrin for a spot in the semifinal.

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Italy’s rise to the top in world tennis in all formats

Jannik Sinner, Matteo Berrettini, Lorenzo Musetti, Lorenzo Sonego, and many others have been making waves in men’s singles while representing Italy. However, the success is not confined to the ATP tour.

Jasmine Paolini (L), Jannik Sinner (R)
Jasmine Paolini (L), Jannik Sinner (R) (Sources: IMAGO)

The Italians are triumphing on the WTA tour as well, with Jasmine Paolini reaching two consecutive Grand Slam finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year. Unfortunately, her Olympic singles campaign was cut short thanks to a 5-7, 6-3, 5-7 defeat to Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. She is still in contention in the doubles, where she has reached the quarterfinals alongside Sara Errani. 

Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli have been serving aces in the men’s doubles scene and have reached two consecutive Grand Slam finals this year in Australia and France. Vavassori partnered Errani in mixed doubles where they went out in the second round in Paris. His singles run was most impressive in the Summer Games as he went down after giving former World No. 2 Casper Ruud a run for his money.

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