Novak Djokovic said he will double his prayers on Wednesday night after receiving a massive slice of luck in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open as the Serb was thoroughly outplayed for two sets by an inspired Lorenzo Musetti before the Italian was forced to retire due to injury while leading 6-4, 6-3, 1-3.
Musetti had been working towards one of the best victories of his career, dominating Djokovic from the baseline and establishing an authoritative lead before his retirement.
“I don’t know what to say except that I feel really sorry for him. He was a far better player, I was on my way home tonight,” Djokovic said. “I don’t know what to say, these kinds of things happen in sport. It happened to me a few times, but being in the quarters of a grand slam, two sets to love up, and being in full control, I mean, so unfortunate. I don’t know what else I can say. I wish him a speedy recovery. And he should have been the winner today, there’s no doubt.”
Despite Djokovic’s dominant 9-1 record against Musetti before the match, the pair have enjoyed numerous dramatic battles, most notably their 3am tussle at Roland Garros in 2024, won by Djokovic in five gruelling sets after struggling badly to break down Musetti’s incredible defence in painfully slow night time conditions. Perhaps Djokovic’s wariness of Musetti’s defensive skills and physicality is the reason why he was so desperate to shorten points. He approached the net 19 times in the opening set alone, throwing in numerous serve and volley attempts, desperately looking to attack early and at all costs.
He did not fare very well. Not only is Musetti one of the fastest players in the game, he is incredibly resourceful and blessed with an endless arsenal of shots. The Italian continually picked Djokovic off at the net with a variety of spectacular passing shots. Musetti also served incredibly well and struck his forehand brilliantly, marching to a two-set lead.
After going down two sets to one, Djokovic was treated by the physio for blisters, his right foot was heavily taped. Djokovic looked in considerable pain during the medical timeout, repeatedly wincing as the physio applied tape. At the beginning of the third set, Djokovic then devoted a significant amount of his time between points to stretching various parts of his body.
Yet the next time the physio entered the court, it was for Musetti. At 1-1 on his serve, Musetti suddenly began to struggle with his movement and then he completely stopped running for the ball on Djokovic’s first break point. Musetti immediately called for the physio and he received a medical time out for his right thigh. It quickly became clear that the Italian simply could not move on the court and there was no chance of him being competitive for the rest of the best of five sets match. He opted to retire while trailing 1-3.
A victory over Djokovic would have been one of Musetti’s significant wins for various reasons. It would have marked his first hard court grand slam semi-final after previously making the semi-finals of Wimbledon and the French Open. Having started the tournament ranked No 3, it would have given the Italian a shot at achieving a new career high ranking. Instead, potentially one of the greatest days of Musetti’s career turned into one of the most painful.
This had already been a fortuitous tournament for Djokovic, who had received a fourth-round walkover against the 16th seed Jakub Mensik, his conqueror in the Miami Open final last year. “I’m going to double my prayers tonight and gratitude to the god for giving my opportunity once again,” he said.
