MELBOURNE: The 38-year-old, competing in a record-extending 54th major semifinal, had trailed world No. 5 Lorenzo Musetti by two sets in their quarterfinal before advancing when his opponent was forced to retire, seemingly with a torn abductor. Musetti was letting his one-handed backhand, a shot of rare beauty, rip, before injury abruptly halted the contest.The 23-year-old Italian, some 15 years younger than his legendary opponent, led 6-4, 6-3, but conceded the last-eight clash in the third set (1-3).A distraught Musetti said, “I felt it at the beginning of the second set. I was playing really, really, really well, but I was feeling that the pain was increasing, and the problem was not going away. I never imagined leading two sets to zero against Novak and playing like that and being forced to retire. Of course, it’s really painful.”Djokovic, who looked a little dazed when he arrived for his post-match conference, almost an hour behind schedule, had started well on Rod Laver Arena, breaking early, but wasn’t allowed to sustain it by his younger opponent.“I don’t want to take away anything from Musetti’s variety, the quality of his tennis today,” he said. “But I think I underperformed for the level that I showed so far in the tournament.”The 24-time major winner, looking for an 11th Australian Open title, came through his first three rounds without dropping a set. And when Djokovic received a walkover in the fourth round, it looked like things were shaping up for him. “I have to play better, no doubt about it,” Djokovic said. “I know that if I’m feeling well and the body is holding up, then I always have a chance. It’s the semi-finals of a Grand Slam, so in terms of level of confidence and motivation, it’s always there. It must be. Otherwise, what’s the point of competing?” Djokovic, who had the trainer on court to treat his blisters, has advanced to the semi-finals of the past five majors he has played, but has not won any of those last-four matches.“If you are playing team sports, maybe you go out, and somebody substitutes you for a set, and then you attend to your physical issue and maybe get a better chance to close out the match, but that’s not possible in our sport,” he said. “You always have to be at your best, and particularly at the final stages of a Grand Slam. We all work hard, but sometimes things like this happen in the heat of battle where you are straining your body.” In the last-four clash on Friday, Djokovic will play Jannik Sinner, the two-time defending champion, who came through his quarterfinal against American Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.Friday’s last-four clash will be the duo’s 11th meeting with the second-seeded Italian, a dazzling ball striker, winning the last five encounters, starting in November 2023. The 24-year-old Sinner leads the head-to-head 6-4.“I lost to Jannik five times in a row, he’s playing on such a high level. He and Carlos are the two best players in the world,” Djokovic said. “He’s the absolute favourite, but you never know. Hopefully I can deliver my A-game for that matchup, because that’s what’s going to be needed at least to have a chance.”This is the fifth time Sinner and Djokovic face off in a major semifinal.“These are the moments why you practice and hopefully you can play your best,” Sinner said. “Doesn’t matter what the result will be, we are still lucky to have Novak playing great tennis, hopefully it will be a great battle out there.”
