Djokovic Reaches Semifinal on Musetti’s Painful Exit
Two sets down and nursing a blister, Novak Djokovic watched his Australian Open dreams flicker until Lorenzo Musetti’s leg injury forced a retirement, propelling the veteran into another Melbourne showdown amid the tour’s relentless grind.
On Rod Laver Arena, the air thickened with tension as Novak Djokovic fought through early shadows. Leading 6-4, 6-3, Lorenzo Musetti moved with fluid menace, his heavy topspin forehands pinning the Serb deep on the hard courts. But in the third set, at 1-3, pain gripped the Italian’s upper right leg, ending the quarterfinal in a handshake that silenced the crowd.
“I honestly have no words to describe how I’m feeling right now and how tough it is for me this injury in this moment,” Musetti said. “I felt there was something strange in my right leg. I continued to play because I was playing really, really, really well, but I was feeling that the pain was increasing and the problem was not going away.”
Djokovic, the 24-time major winner, had grabbed an early break in the first set, slicing an inside-out forehand to push toward 3-0. Musetti clawed back with a crosscourt backhand pass, his variety—drop shots laced with underspin—disrupting the veteran’s rhythm on the medium-fast Plexicushion. The 23-year-old fifth seed held firm, his one–two serve-forehand combo forcing errors as Djokovic’s footwork labored under the Melbourne sun.
Musetti seizes control early
By the second set, Musetti elevated, breaking at 3-3 with a down-the-line backhand that clipped the line. His topspin loops bounced high, exploiting Djokovic’s need to stretch low for returns, while subtle angles pulled the Serb wide. The crowd’s cheers swelled with each winner, sensing an upset as the Italian’s footwork covered ground effortlessly, turning rallies into a baseline duel where variety trumped power.
Djokovic called for a medical timeout after losing the set 6-3, the trainer tending to a blister on the ball of his right foot that dulled his slides. He later admitted the pain sapped his feel for the ball, Musetti’s quality amplifying every misstep. Entering the tournament without dropping a set, this marked the second straight injury-aided advance, following a walkover when Jakub Mensik withdrew with an abdominal issue before their fourth-round match.
Injuries reshape the battle
Musetti broke in the third game’s opening, his backhand sealing 1-0, but soon limped through points after the medical team worked on his leg. The strain echoed the injury that forced his retirement in last year’s French Open semifinals against eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz. He pushed nearly two more games, firing a topspin lob to hold at 2-1, yet a double fault at 15-40 in the fifth game broke his serve—and his will.
As Musetti approached the net, headband in hand, the arena hushed, the brief hug with Djokovic heavy with shared understanding. The 38-year-old Serb, chasing an 11th Australian Open title and record 25th major, had been outplayed, his mind drifting to the flight home. This echoed his own painful exit last year, retiring after one set against Alexander Zverev with a torn leg muscle, drawing boos from the stands.
“I don’t know what to say except that I feel really sorry for him,” Djokovic said in an on-court interview. “He was the far better player. I was on my way home tonight.”
“These kinds of things happen in sport. It happened to me a few times,” he added, insisting Musetti should have won. The Italian lamented pre-season exams that showed no issues, his two-set lead vanishing into frustration. “Honestly, I never imagined the feeling of leading two sets to zero against Novak and playing like that and have the lead of the match like that and be forced to retire. Of course, it’s really painful,” Musetti reflected.
Semifinal tests Djokovic’s grit
Djokovic now faces two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner, who dispatched No. 8 Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 with flat groundstrokes that neutralized the American’s booming serve. Sinner’s inside-out forehands will demand Djokovic adjust for the blister, leaning on backhand slices to disrupt the Italian’s rhythm. At 38, the veteran’s guile meets a rival’s precision on courts where he’s thrived, but luck’s edge sharpens the mental stakes.
The blister, though taped, lingers as a reminder of the tour’s toll, where tactical shifts like Musetti’s early crosscourt pressure exposed vulnerabilities. Djokovic’s 1–2 pattern faltered on slowed follow-throughs, yet survival reignites his chase. As Melbourne’s heat eases, this semifinal looms as a pivot, fortune fueling a bid to reclaim dominance against a generation’s rise.