Melbourne Novak Djokovic, a ten-time Australian Open champion, reached his 13th semifinal at Melbourne Park on Wednesday afternoon in a dramatic way when the fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti retired with a two-set lead.
The Italian led 6-4 6-3 before injuring his right leg en route to being broken in the third game of the third set. Meanwhile, Djokovic added another milestone to his illustrious career simply by stepping on court Wednesday for his quarterfinal as the former No. 1 became just the third man to play 1,400 tour-level matches.
Musetti stepped onto Rod Laver Arena, having lost all three previous major matches against Djokovic. He delivered an excellent all-around quarter-final performance, taking a two-set lead. However, he seemed to injure his upper right leg in the third game of the third set. Despite attempting to continue after physio treatment at 1-2, Musetti was eventually forced to retire after two hours and eight minutes of play.
Having become the second-oldest man in the Open Era to reach the Australian Open semi-finals, Djokovic, who advanced to the quarterfinals after Jakub Mensik withdrew with injury before their fourth-round clash, moves on to a semi-final on Friday between the winner of the quarterfinal between second seed Jannik Sinner and eighth seed Ben Shelton.
“I don’t know what to say except I feel really sorry for him, and he was a far better player. I was on my way home tonight. These kinds of things happen in sport. It happened to me a few times, but being in the quarters of a Grand Slam, two sets to love up, and being in full control, it’s so unfortunate. I don’t know what else I can say and I really wish him a speedy recovery. He should have been a winner today, no doubt,” said Djokovic in his on-court interview.
Musetti moved to the brink of a major upset with a polished straight-sets performance, taking control of his quarterfinal by winning the opening two sets against Novak Djokovic. The fifth seed set the tone early, serving with authority to close out the first set 6-4.
After a nervy opening point, the Italian quickly settled, repeatedly finding pace and precision on serve to keep Djokovic on the back foot. He sealed the set with confident baseline play, finishing a key rally with a sharply angled forehand winner to claim a deserved one-set advantage.
Momentum continued to swing Musetti’s way in the second set, where he broke serve to secure a 6–3 victory. Djokovic resisted through a tightly contested game featuring several deuces and flashes of his trademark creativity at the net, but key mistakes at critical moments proved costly. Musetti capitalised, producing clean returns and decisive groundstrokes to convert his chances and close the set with another emphatic forehand.
With his serving holding firm and his shot-making under pressure, Musetti surged to a 2–0 lead, leaving the Italian just one set away from a memorable quarterfinal triumph over the defending champion.