Novak Djokovic 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 outplayed for two sets by an inspired Lorenzo Musetti before injury forced the Italian to retire while leading 6-4, 6-3, 1-3.
Musetti had been working towards one of his best victories, 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.
“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 wish him a speedy recovery. And he should have been the winner today, there’s no doubt.”
Despite Djokovic’s 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 defence in painfully slow nighttime conditions.
Perhaps Djokovic’s wariness of Musetti’s defensive skills and physicality is 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 well. Not only is Musetti one of the fastest players in the game, he is 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 well and struck his forehand brilliantly, marching to a two-set lead.
After going down two sets to one, Djokovic was treated for blisters, his right foot 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 stopped running for the ball on Djokovic’s first break point. Musetti immediately called for a medical time out for treatment on his right thigh. It quickly became clear that the Italian could not move on the court and there was no chance of him being competitive for the rest of the match. He opted to retire while trailing 1-3.
A victory over Djokovic would have marked Musetti’s first hard-court grand slam semi-final after reaching the last four of Wimbledon and the French Open. Also, having started the tournament ranked No 3, it would have given the Italian a shot at achieving a career-high ranking. Instead, potentially one of the greatest days of Musetti’s career turned into one of the most painful.
“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 is something that I will never imagine,” Musetti said. “Of course, it’s really painful.”
This had already been a fortuitous Australian Open 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 God for giving my opportunity once again,” he said.
