Lorenzo Musetti makes no secret of the messaging behind the tattoos he proudly sports and all three are especially pertinent given his breakout run to a maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon.
The Italian would have every reason to add another should his winning ways continue unabated this fortnight.
Hailing from the small town of Carrara just below Italy’s famous Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera, the 22-year-old’s family is the inspiration for his latest tattoo, a ship’s anchor.
“I have three tattoos on my body. Probably the most known is the one with my heartbeat, heart rate, and tennis racquet in the middle,” he said. “Then I have this for my family because they're always supporting me, like an anchor does.”
While his four-month-old son, Ludovico, was an acceptable courtside absentee at the All England Club, Musetti paid tribute to his family, girlfriend Veronica and coach since childhood, Simone Tartarini, after he tamed French lucky loser Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s monster serves for a 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-2 triumph on No.2 Court.
He joined his compatriots – Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner and women’s seventh seed Jasmine Paolini – in the last eight, marking the first time three Italians reached this far at a major since Roland Garros in 1948.
It was also the first time two Italian men advanced to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
“It’s tough for me to get emotional, but today I think I will,” Musetti said.
“I’ve been dreaming about this moment since I was a kid. I always had a really beautiful family that always supported me in chasing my dream… I think it’s been really challenging with a lot of new experiences, with the pregnancy of my girlfriend and becoming a father, a lot of things happened and changed.
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“I probably needed more time to find a balance on everything but I’m really happy because I never stopped working, I never stopped believing. My team, my family, the people that I love that I care (about) really pushing me to do better. These are the results.”
In reaching the fourth round, Musetti had already equalled his best run at a Slam, having twice featured in the round of 16 at Roland Garros – last year, when he fell to Carlos Alcaraz and in 2021 when he led eventual champion Djokovic two sets to love before retiring in the fifth set.
While his best results typically came on clay, the Toscano and his family have had plenty to toast since the switch to grass this year.
Musetti has notched 11 wins on the turf, thanks to a semifinal in Stuttgart then a maiden tour grass-court final at the Queen’s Club, where he beat Australia’s top two, Alex de Minaur and Jordan Thompson.
It took fifth seed Tommy Paul to halt his bid for the giant silver cup.
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“Watching him play on grass the past two or three years has been really cool,” Paul said. “I think everyone kind of thought of him as a clay-court player, and he's kind of proved everyone wrong. He's obviously a force on the grass courts and is comfortable on it and plays very, very well on it.”
Highlighting Roger Federer as his idol growing up – he wields a similarly silken single-handed backhand – the Italian will need to find a way past another fine proponent of the grass, three-time Eastbourne champion and 13th seed Taylor Fritz, to keep his Wimbledon campaign alive.
The American easily claimed the honours the first time they met – in the opening round at SW19 two years ago – but fell in their most recent encounter on clay at Monte Carlo this year.
“I saw a bit of his first match at Queen's, I was very impressed,” Fritz said. “I think he's made really good progress and shown a tonne of improvement over the last, like, six months to a year on surfaces that aren't clay.
“He's shown that he can have results and play really good tennis on every surface.”
As for Musetti’s third tattoo, that perhaps best reflects his healthy optimism, a mindset that is paying off in spades on the grass.
“I have one phrase with my coach. It says in Italian: Il meglio deve ancora venire. The best is yet to come,” Musetti said.
“Today I can say it is coming.”