July 10 (UPI) — Novak Djokovic didn’t need his racket to advance to the Wimbledon semifinals, while Elena Rybakina and Barbora Krejcikova had straight-sets victories to clinch their spots Wednesday in London.
Italian Lorenzo Musetti and American Taylor Fritz played the tightest match of the day, with Musetti outlasting Fritz in 3-hours, 27 minutes at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Musetti, ranked No. 25 in the world, will meet Djokovic (No. 2) in a semifinal Friday in London. The winner will meet No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain or No. 5 Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the men’s singles final.
“I don’t think I’ve realized yet what I have done,” Musetti said on the ESPN broadcast. “I was talking with my team about how to play on the big stage. … It was the first time I’ve had the opportunity to walk out on this amazing stadium and it’s been an honor for me.”
Musetti, a first-time Grand Slam semifinalist, converted 6 of 13 break point opportunities and logged 39 unforced errors, compared to 55 for Fritz, who was the lone American left in the men’s or women’s singles circuit.
Fritz fired 10 aces, while Musetti logged seven in the 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 triumph.
Djokovic earned his semifinal spot when his quarterfinal foe, No. 9 Alex de Minaur of Australia, withdrew because of a hip injury.
“It’s not an announcement I wanted to make, by any means,” de Minaur told reporters. “I’m devastated, but I had to pull out due to a hip injury, a little tear of the fiber, cartilage that connects to the adductor.
Musetti said he sustained the injury during his Round of 16 win Monday over No. 34 Arthur Fils of France.
On the women’s side, Rybakina advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 21 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. The No. 4 player from Kazakhstan needed just 61 minutes to dispatch her quarterfinal foe.
Krejcikova needed 100 minutes to beat No. 13 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-4, 7-6(4). The No. 32 player from the Czech Republic will face Rybakina in a semifinal Thursday on Center Court.
The winner of that match will face No. 7 Jasmine Paolini of Italy or No. 37 Donna Vekic of Croatia in the women’s singles final.
Semifinal coverage will start at 8 a.m. EDT Thursday on ESPN.
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