MELBOURNE – Lorenzo Musetti was playing at a spectacular level and had Novak Djokovic on the brink of elimination at the Australian Open. But for his misfortune, he suffered a right leg injury and was forced to retire while holding a two-set lead.
“I feel very sorry for him. I was on my way home. Lorenzo had the match completely under control, with a 2–0 lead. It’s very unfortunate. He should have been the winner today,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview, minutes after the Italian left the court. The score stood at 6–4, 6–3, 1–3.
“I’m extremely lucky to have got through. I will double the prayers tonight,” added the Olympic champion with a touch of humour in front of the crowd of the Rod Laver Arena. In what will be his 54th Grand Slam semi-final, the Serb will face on Friday the winner of the clash between Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton.
It is the second time in less than a year that Musetti has been forced to retire from a Grand Slam match at a late round. At Roland Garros, the world No. 5 had to withdraw before the third set of his semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz.
The situation in Melbourne was very similar to what happened in the fourth round of last year’s Wimbledon between Sinner and Grigor Dimitrov.
In London, the Bulgarian suffered a torn right pectoral muscle while dominating Sinner, who would go on to lift the trophy five days later at the All England Club.
“I don’t take this as a victory,” Italy’s greatest player said at the time.
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