Lorenzo Musetti withdraws from Australian Open semifinals against Novak Djokovic | ATP Tour

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Musetti retires against Djokovic after leading two sets in Australian Open semi-finals

Ten-time champion Djokovic will face Sinner or Shelton in the Final Four

January 28, 2026

Lorenzo Musetti’s hopes of ending his Grand Slam drought against Novak Djokovic were dashed in brutal fashion in Melbourne on Wednesday afternoon. The Italian was forced to retire in the Australian Open quarter-finals after leading 6-4, 6-3, 1-3.

Musetti stepped onto Rod Laver Arena after losing all three of his first three Grand Slam matches against Djokovic. Musetti put in a stellar all-around performance to take a two-set lead in the quarterfinals, but he appeared to injure his upper right leg in the third game of the third set. Although the Italian tried to continue playing after receiving treatment from a physio in the 1-2 situation, he was eventually forced to stop after 2 hours and 8 minutes of play.

“I don’t know what to say, other than I feel really sorry for him and he’s a better player,” Djokovic said in an on-court interview. “I was on my way home tonight. This kind of thing happens in sports. It happened to me a few times, but to be in a quarter-final at a Grand Slam and have to warm up and be in complete control of both sets in both sets is very unfortunate. I don’t know what else I can say, I really wish him a speedy recovery. There is no doubt that he should be the winner today.”

Taking to the court on Wednesday, Djokovic became the third man (after Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer) to play 1,400 tour-level matches. After Musetti retired, the Serbian also surpassed Federer and holds the record for most singles wins at the Australian Open (103 games). However, the former PIF ATP No. 1 knows he will have to significantly improve his performance if he wants to beat two-time defending champions Jannik Sinner or Ben Shelton in the Final Four.

Prior to his injury, Musetti, ranked fifth in the world, had barely looked back after overturning a 2-0 deficit in the first set. He broke Djokovic’s serve five times in the first two sets, according to Infosys Stats, and the Serbian – playing his first match since Saturday after a comeback to advance to the fourth round – struggled to find the rhythm of his aggressive game plan from the baseline.

“The strategy worked very well for the first few games and then it completely changed,” said Djokovic, who now leads Musetti head-to-head with a 10-1 Lexus ATP lead. “Four winners in the first two games and no unforced errors. Then in the rest of the games I scored four more winners and probably made 40 errors. But that’s what Lorenzo does to you.

“He makes you play. Just when you think it’s over, it’s not. Obviously, the wind was stronger today, the swirling conditions, when you attack him, you don’t know what’s going to happen… What can I say. I tried my best. Yes, I had blisters here and there, but nothing really bothered me. I didn’t feel the ball today in the first few sets, but that’s also due to his quality and the variety of his game. I’m very lucky to get through this today.”