Musetti’s Injury Derails Djokovic Thriller in Melbourne

On a breezy Wednesday afternoon in Melbourne, Lorenzo Musetti stepped onto Rod Laver Arena with quiet resolve, aiming to crack Novak Djokovic‘s armor in their Australian Open quarterfinal. The 23-year-old Italian, World No. 5, had lost all three prior major meetings to the Serb, but this time his variety from the baseline turned the tide early. Trailing 0-2 in the first set, Musetti clawed back with crosscourt forehands that pulled Djokovic wide, breaking serve to level and eventually claim the frame 6-4.

His one-handed backhand, laced with underspin, skimmed low over the net, forcing the Serb into awkward stretches on the hard courts. Djokovic, fresh off a walkover against Jakub Mensik in the fourth round, couldn’t sync his aggressive returns, spraying balls long as Musetti built momentum. The crowd’s murmurs swelled into cheers with each extended rally, the Italian’s footwork adapting seamlessly to the swirly winds that twisted every shot.

Musetti‘s variety disrupts Djokovic’s rhythm

Musetti’s game plan thrived in the gusts, his drop shots dying short while heavy topspin forehands inside-in caught the lines. He broke Djokovic five times across the first two sets, the Serb’s 1–2 pattern faltering as he netted approaches under pressure. By the second set’s end, Musetti led 6-3, his defensive depth turning Djokovic’s power into futile chases, the arena pulsing with the shift in control.

The Italian’s season of breakthroughs—climbing rankings through gritty finals—fueled this display, his eyes locked on a potential semifinal that would vault him to No. 3. Djokovic, reaching his 1,400th tour-level match and joining Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer in that milestone, appeared a step slow, his flat groundstrokes losing bite against the variety. Yet the Serb’s experience kept him in points, probing for openings that Musetti snuffed with down-the-line passes.

Injury strikes at the turning point

In the third game’s sharp pivot, Musetti winced, clutching his upper right leg as pain shot through. He pushed on to break for 1-3, but at 1-2 he called for the physio, taping the area amid tense silence from the stands. After two hours and eight minutes, the effort proved futile; he retired, becoming the first Open Era player to quit a major quarterfinal up two sets.

Djokovic, now holding sole possession of the Australian Open singles wins record at 103 over Federer, offered a handshake laced with sympathy. The advancement felt hollow, his early aggression—four winners and zero errors in the opening games—dissolving into 40 unforced mistakes as Musetti dictated tempo. “The strategy worked very well for the first couple of games, and then it changed completely,” Djokovic reflected later, crediting the Italian’s elusiveness in the conditions.

Records mount but questions linger

At 38, Djokovic stands as the second-oldest men’s semifinalist here, trailing only Ken Rosewall in 1976 and 1977, with five straight major last-four appearances but no titles from them. His 10-1 head-to-head over Musetti holds, yet this match exposed vulnerabilities ahead of a clash with two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner or Ben Shelton. Minor blisters nagged, but he pinned the struggle on Musetti’s quality, the wind turning attacks into risks.

Musetti’s dashed hopes echo the tour’s unforgiving grind, where tactical edges meet physical limits under Melbourne’s glare. Djokovic must sharpen his baseline fire for the semis, rediscovering the precision that built his legacy. As Rod Laver Arena empties, the Serb’s chase for an 11th Australian Open crown and 25th major hangs on that reset, the Italian’s brilliance a stark reminder of rivals’ rising threat.