Even the greats need a slice of luck now and again, and 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic was the first to admit he was mighty fortunate to navigate a passage into a 13th Melbourne Park semifinal on Wednesday.
After his fourth-round opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew from the tournament through injury, this time it was Italian Lorenzo Musetti who was forced to retire with a leg injury when he was leading Djokovic by two sets to love at Rod Laver Arena.
For the best part of the two hours and eight minutes they spent on court, Musetti was the better player, easing into a 6-4 6-3 lead before stopping the match with Djokovic ahead 3-1 in the third when the pain in his right groin became too much.
“I felt it at the beginning of the second set,” explained a heartbroken Musetti.
“I honestly have no words to describe how I'm feeling right now and how tough it is for me [to have] this injury in this moment.”
The drama took the attention away from yet another remarkable milestone for Djokovic who now has a record 103 AO victories, one more than Roger Federer.
"I don't know what to say, except that I feel really sorry for him and he was a far better player," Djokovic admitted. "I was on my way home tonight.”
Strangely, the Serb hasn’t won a set since he beat Botic Van de Zandschulp in the third round, and he will now prepare for battle against two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner as he continues his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam singles title.
Sinner was too good on return and too solid from the back during his 6-3 6-4 6-4 win against Ben Shelton during the evening session, although didn’t look like he was 100 per cent physically early in the third set.
“It’s definitely one of the toughest challenges to return his serve … I felt like I returned great today,” Sinner said after a 19th consecutive Australian Open win.
In the women’s draw on Day 11, both higher-ranked players in quarterfinal action crashed out.
Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina outplayed second seed Iga Swiatek 7-5 6-1 to crush the Pole’s hopes of a first Australian Open title.
And Jessica Pegula moved into her first AO semifinal and third overall at Grand Slam level when the 31-year-old came back from 5-3 down in the second set to edge past fellow American and fourth seed Amanda Anisimova 6-2 7-6(1).
Fifth seed Rybakina, who reached the final at Melbourne Park in 2023, said she’s feeling more comfortable in the later rounds at the majors.
"I think probably now I'm more calm going deeper in tournaments,” admitted the 2022 Wimbledon champion, who hasn’t dropped a set through the draw.
Similarly, Pegula told the media after her quarterfinal win that her experience and improved emotional control is helping her chances of going deep into the Grand Slam draws.
“Especially over the last couple of years, I've kind of leaned into what my strengths are,” the sixth seed said.
“That is stability and my mental toughness and my ability to stay calm out there on the court, and kind of just lean into that and really kind of own that.”
In the men’s doubles, Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos stayed on track for what could be a third Grand Slam title in four majors.
The Spanish-Argentine Roland Garros and US Open reigning champions moved into the semis with a 6-3 6-4 win over Brazilian team Rafael Matos and Orlando Luz.
There was a shock in the women’s doubles quarterfinals when defending champions Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend crashed out to Kazakh Anna Danilina and Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic 6-0 in the deciding set.
And the mixed doubles final is set, with Aussie wildcards John Peers and Olivia Gadecki to battle for the title against French team Manuel Guinard and Kristina Mladenovic on Friday.