Novak Djokovic into Australian Open semi-finals as Lorenzo Musetti retires

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Both players have shown weaknesses this fortnight: Djokovic struggled to deal with Musetti’s return game, while Sinner still appears to be battling his body, having admitted he got “lucky” when cramps almost ended his tournament in the third round.

“I was on my way home tonight,” said Djokovic, whose hunt for a record-breaking 25th grand-slam singles title remains on course after reaching a fifth consecutive grand-slam semi-final. “I feel sorry for him. He was the far better player. [Musetti] was in full control, so unfortunate. He should have been a winner today. That’s a hard one to swallow, but that’s the sport we are in.”

The world No4 had an off day: he hit 32 unforced errors and struggled with both Musetti’s power and a nasty blister on his right foot. He has been around the block enough times to know that, despite two decades of dominance, he will be the underdog when he faces Musetti’s compatriot on Friday.

“Jannik, I lost to him five in a row, so yeah, he’s just playing on such a high level right now, along with Carlos [Alcaraz]. They’re the two best players in the world. I mean, [Sinner is the] absolute favourite but you never know.

“I’m creating my own history, and I’ve been very clear when I say that my intention is always to — in terms of achievements and objectives and results — get to the championship match in every tournament, particularly slams. Slams are one of the biggest reasons why I keep on competing and playing tennis.

“Are they [Sinner and Alcaraz] better right now than me and all the other guys? Yes, they are. The quality and the level is amazing. It’s great. It’s phenomenal. But does that mean that I walk out with a white flag? No. I’m going to fight until the last shot, until the last point, and do my very best to challenge them.”

Sinner, who beat Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, said of facing Djokovic: “It’s one of the toughest challenges we have in our sport. He is the most professional athlete we have in the locker room. He has a huge package of experience. You see him on the court, he knows how to handle every situation in the best possible way. Me, as a 24-year-old, I’m lucky to have someone like him in front of my eyes, and I can hopefully learn something.”

Djokovic arrived at this quarter-final clash with only 6hr 59min of playing time under his belt at the tournament; Musetti, meanwhile, was at 12h 26min. Despite this, Djokovic’s gameplan was clear early on: short rallies, please. He was up to the net seven times in the first 16 points and used the drop shot to good effect.

He raced into a 2-0 lead but then a shocking overhead smash at 40-40 on serve offered Musetti hope — and the Serb held the door open for his opponent to walk through. It was very unlike Djokovic and it got worse; Musetti smashed a leaping one-handed backhand pass down the line to make it three games in a row. A hold to love made it four.

Djokovic then received a time violation for not being ready to receive Musetti’s serve, which did not go down well. “As a gentleman who has been in sport for a couple of decades, you could have given me a heads up. I was looking for my cap. Think that’s fair?” he asked the chair umpire, James Keothavong. Musetti clinched the first set with a venomous forehand winner.

At the start of the second set, Musetti immediately broke Djokovic’s serve, a forehand lob doing the damage while the Serb looked over his shoulder, stranded as the ball dropped in. Djokovic wrestled it back to 1-1 but then was broken for a fourth time in seven service games.

At 5-3 down, Djokovic was awarded a point as he attempted to hold serve but the Serb told the umpire that the ball had brushed his racket before Musetti’s strike had landed out. He was perhaps the only person in the stadium who could have known he’d made contact with the ball; instead of 40-15 it became 30-30. Musetti then broke for 6-3 and a two-set advantage.

Djokovic called for a medical timeout. As he took off his right sock, a nasty blister could be seen under some heavy taping. It looked at this point as though he was delaying the inevitable but then came Musetti’s injury. Djokovic, who has not won a set in the past two rounds, is through to the semi-finals here for the 13th time and his hunt for No25 remains alive — somehow.

Semi-final line-up

Thursday: Women’s

A Sabalenka (1) v E Svitolina (12)

J Pegula (6) v E Rybakina (5)

Friday: Men’s

C Alcaraz (1) v A Zverev (3)

J Sinner (2) v N Djokovic (4)

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