‘Very nasty’ injury leaves Djokovic on brink of Aus Open crash-out... but rival quits moments later

A four-day break wasn’t enough to help Novak Djokovic overcome a disgusting blister which left him on the brink of Australian Open annihilation.

But for the second straight match his opponent withdrew due to injury, just minutes after Djokovic required treatment, remarkably handing the 24-time champion a spot in the semi-finals.

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For the second time in less than a year world No.5 Lorenzo Musetti was forced to retire hurt after leading a superstar rival in the second week of a slam.

“He was the far better player ... I don’t know what to say,” Djokovic said immediately after the match.

“He should’ve been a winner today.

“I tried my best, really. I just wasn’t feeling the ball today the first couple of sets, but that’s also due to his quality and the variety in his game.”

Djokovic dealt with a blister during his third-round win over Botic van de Zandschulp and, thanks to a withdrawal from Jakub Mensik, skipped the fourth round.

But those four days off his feet didn’t allow the 10-time Australian Open champion to fully recover from the issue.

The world No.4 required a medical timeout to deal with multiple foot issues, including covering up the popped blister a few centimetres below his big toe on the bottom of his foot.

He also had his toe freshly wrapped up.

“That is very nasty … I can’t imagine that it’s not a factor,” John McEnroe said on Nine.

“I mean, this guy relies on movement even at his age. And when you have something that’s painful like that, it gets in your head and you know, he’s been flat, he had the good start, but he’s really tailed off.

“(The doctor) is trying to save him.”

WARNING: GRAPHIC PHOTO BELOW

Djokovic had not been eliminated before the semi-finals of the Australian Open since 2018, when he lost to Hyeon Chung.

Ironically the Korean sensation then had to withdraw from his semi-final against Roger Federer due to a similarly brutal blister, described at the time as “blister under blister under blister” by his agent.

That was a real possibility until Musetti suddenly suffered an injury early in the third set.

After Djokovic broke the Italian’s serve, he suddenly required treatment from the physio on his groin.

“This is an unbelievable turn of events,” McEnroe said.

“It’s sad to see this. It’s a bummer.”

Musetti was then attempting to win points very quickly when play resumed, suggesting he was not at all confident in his movement and soon retired - just as he did during the French Open semi-finals against Carlos Alcaraz last year.

Earlier the Serbian had produced a moment of great sportsmanship when he alerted the umpire he had hit a ball and Musetti deserved to win a point.

“Respect for Djokovic surrendering a point in a key game after volunteering that he had made contact with the ball even though it had not been called and he had been awarded the point,” veteran tennis writer Christopher Clarey tweeted.

“Shouldn’t be rare but it is and it cost him: he went on to be broken by Musetti and go down two sets to love.”

The winner of their match is likely to face Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.

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