The China Mail - 'Extremely lucky' Djokovic into Melbourne semi-finals as Musetti retires

The fifth-seeded Italian was well on top and leading 6-4, 6-3, 1-3 when he withdrew after treatment on his upper right leg, with his movement badly impeded.

It was a huge stroke of luck for the error-riddled 10-time Melbourne winner Djokovic, who will now play either defending champion Jannik Sinner or American eighth seed Ben Shelton for a place in the final.

The let-off kept alive his bid to secure a record 25th major title.

Djokovic has been trying to move past Margaret Court and clinch the landmark since his last one at the US Open in 2023.

It has proved increasingly difficult with the emergence of Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

"I feel really sorry for him, he was the far better player, I was on my way home tonight," said Djokovic.

"It has happened to me a few times. He was in full control.

"So unfortunate, I don't what else to say. He should have been the winner today no doubt. I am extremely lucky to get through this one today."

With victory, Djokovic claimed sole ownership of most singles wins at Melbourne Park, surpassing Roger Federer with his 103rd.

It also put him into a 54th Slam semi-final to extend his own record.

But it looked to all be over for the 38-year-old.

He was his own worst enemy with an extraordinarily high unforced error rate, racking up 18 in the first set alone and 32 overall before Musetti walked away.

Djokovic comfortably held serve then worked three break points to start. A nervy Musetti saved two of them but a misjudged forehand put him 2-0 behind.

The Italian though quickly settled and a slew of poor shots by the Serb opened the door to a break back in the next game.

It was the first of four games in a row won by Musetti, whose court coverage was sublime as Djokovic piled up mistakes off both his backhand and forehand.

The Italian had three break points to race 5-2 ahead, but the veteran somehow fought back through an eight-minute game to hold on.

But it was just delaying the inevitable and Musetti took the set in 54 minutes, then broke again to open set two.

Djokovic was not done yet, breaking back, but then threw it away again with yet more errors to concede serve for a fourth time.

He was broken once more when serving to stay in the set, with Musetti unleashing a sensational forehand down the line to move two sets clear.

But Musetti needed treatment on a thigh issue after falling 2-1 down in the third and was clearly hurting, with his movement restricted.

He tried to carry on, but had no choice but to throw in the towel.

D.Peng--ThChM