Beaten Djokovic survives as Musetti quits QF

Novak Djokovic admitted he was heading to the exits in his Australian Open quarter-final when opponent Lorenzo Musetti was forced to retire with a leg injury to hand over a surprise win on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old Serb with 24 grand Slam singles titles advanced into the semi-finals 4-6, 3-6, 3-1 when the Italian was forced to quit after receiving a medical timeout for treatment on his right thigh.

Djokovic admitted he came up extremely lucky as he awaits a semi-final opponent from two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton.

“I don’t know what to say, I feel really sorry for him. I was on my way home tonight, he was the far better player.”

The first five games of the match featured three breaks of serve, with Musetti steadying to take a two-sets to-love lead.

The fifth seed needed the trainer trailing 2-1 in the third set and quit the match one game later to send Djokovic into his fifth consecutive Grand Slam semi-final.

Djokovic said he would be “thanking the gods” for his winning fate.

“He was in full control of the match, it (the injury) was so unfortunate. (Lorenzo) should have been the winner today, no doubt.

“You don’t know what to expect from him, I tried my best so I can’t complain. But nothing bothered him. I was not feeling the ball in the first couple of sets.
“Due to his quality I was extremely lucky to get through this one today.”

Djokovic came to the court after a walkover in the fourth round when opponent Jakob Mesnik withdrew injured. His win sent him to the all-time record for match wins in Melbourne, 103.