Novak Djokovic must make the best of fortune smiling on him at Australian Open
Helped immensely by a walkover and a retirement when he was two sets down, Serbian legend has no excuses, but the Italian defending champion looks in prime form.
Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner during their respective quarterfinal matches in the Australian Open. (AP) There is no injury concern, no draining workload from previous matches. There remain few excuses.
Novak Djokovic was in the throes of a drubbing; what would have unquestionably been a hugely demoralising defeat that would have triggered all sorts of speculation about his future. Instead, a golden opportunity has landed in his lap: he will play second seed Jannik Sinner in the semifinal of the Australian Open on Friday with mind and body totally fresh, just two-and-a-half hours of tennis under his belt in the six-day period between the third round and the semifinal. Djokovic’s fourth round opponent, Jakub Mensik, had handed him a walkover.
“I will double my prayers tonight,” Djokovic said, expressing “gratitude” for the good fortune of making the semifinals without winning a single set in two rounds.
On a warm Wednesday evening at Melbourne Park, an inspired Lorenzo Musetti, the fifth seed from Italy, spent two sets thoroughly outplaying the Serb before he heard a pop in his right adductor muscle and could barely walk any more. Intense treatment was received, but his fate was sealed. The best performance of the sprightly 23-year-old’s career led to nowhere as he was forced to retire from a match he was leading 6-3, 6-4, 1-3.
A heartfelt Novak Djokovic after opponent Lorenzo Musetti was forced to retire while leading two sets to love 💔@wwos • @espn • @tntsports • @wowowtennis • #AO26 pic.twitter.com/MaIFyBJnAf
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2026
“Don’t know what to say except that I feel sorry for him. He was the far better player, I was on my way home tonight,” Djokovic said, commiserating with his opponent, after the abrupt ending. “Being in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, two sets to love up and being in full control. I mean, so unfortunate. I don’t know what else to say. I wish him a speedy recovery and he should’ve been the winner today, no doubt.”
The misfortune is truly immense. In Open Era men’s tennis history before Wednesday, no player had ever retired from a quarterfinal or thereafter with a two-set lead. The misery is compounded by just how well he had been playing: the ball bouncing off his aesthetically-pleasing one-handed backhand with aplomb, his near-perfect point construction leaving the sport’s greatest-ever scrambling behind the baseline.
The Rod Laver Arena is firmly Djokovic’s favourite hunting ground, where he is a record 10-time former champion. On Wednesday, he was made to look like a shadow of himself against a player he had beaten in nine of their last 10 meetings. His groundstrokes were spraying everywhere; he made 24 unforced errors in the first two sets alone.
Lady Luck smiles
Yet, an instantaneous stroke of luck has turned ignominy into opportunity. This is the Serb’s fifth successive Major semifinal; he complained about physical troubles in each of the last four that he lost. The wear and tear on his 38-year-old body has manifested itself in double-quick time, while Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have established themselves at the top of men’s tennis. To go into the semifinal fully fresh is the kind of chance that is unlikely to come again.
Despite the good fortune, the task of beating Sinner, the two-time defending champion in Melbourne who has beaten Djokovic in each of their last five meetings, remains difficult. Especially with how well the Italian’s game is flowing. In the night session on Wednesday, he crushed eighth seed Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 with metronomic precision and destructive power from the baseline: a combination of attributes that Sinner has now made a typical feature of his game.
The sport we all love can be brutal sometimes… 💔
WIshing you a speedy recovery, Lorenzo 🙌@wwos • @espn • @tntsports • @wowowtennis • #AO26 pic.twitter.com/bC5wLyLrxo
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2026
Shelton had come into the match with form on his side, equipped with a wicked lefty serve and a big frame that allowed him to power through almost anyone on tour. Almost. Just as he had done against the 23-year-old American in their eight previous meetings, Sinner dwarfed his serve with his elite-level returning and moved him side to side by coming up with thunderous groundstrokes to take control of the baseline exchanges. That in itself would have been enough, if not for an elite serving day, winning 78 percent of the points behind his first serve to make it 22 consecutive sets won against Shelton.
Sinner’s hard-court prowess is a throwback to Djokovic’s own heyday. It throws up a sticky challenge for the Serb to contend with the 24-year-old’s relentless hitting power from the baseline. But Friday’s encounter is his best chance to do so without any underlying physical problems. There are unlikely to be many more in the future.
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