Rybakina, Svitolina set up quarters clash

London, July 8

Lorenzo Musetti just needed a little time to adjust. To life and to 6’8” Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s serve. Musetti advanced to the first Grand Slam quarterfinals of his career at Wimbledon by beating the 21-year-old Frenchman 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-2.

Musetti joins No. 1 Jannik Sinner and women’s No. 7 Jasmine Paolini in collectively making Italian history: it’s the first time three Italians have reached the quarterfinals at the same Grand Slam.

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. Musetti will next face either No. 4 Alexander Zverev or No. 13 Taylor Fritz.

No. 9 Alex de Minaur reached his first Wimbledon quarterfinal by eliminating 20-year-old Arthur Fils of France 6-2 6-4 4-6 6-3.

The 25-year-old Australian will next face either seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic or No. 15 Holger Rune. De Minaur was walking gingerly after closing out the match with a forehand volley winner.

On the women’s side, No. 21 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine beat Wang Xinyu 6-2 6-1 on a “very difficult day “ for her home country.

A major Russian missile attack across Ukraine killed dozens and injured more than 150 people, officials said.

Svitolina will play 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals. Rybakina, the No. 4 seed, advanced earlier Monday when Anna Kalinskaya retired in the second set because of an injury.

Rybakina was leading 6-3 3-0 when the 17th-seeded Kalinskaya stopped playing. Kalinskaya had taken a medical timeout in the first set, with attention paid to her neck and right forearm.

Rybakina has now won 18 of 20 matches in her career at the All-England Club to join Ann Jones and Steffi Graf as the only players in the Open Era to have a 90% win rate in women’s singles at Wimbledon. The 25-year-old Rybakina is the highest-seeded woman remaining in the draw. “My serve helps me a lot and especially when the roof is closed there is no wind,” she said. — AP