SYDNEY, January 28. /TASS/. Serbia’s Novak Djokovic advanced to the semifinals of the 2026 Australian open after his quarterfinals opponent, Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti was forced to retire on Wednesday after winning the opening two sets.
With the scoreboard flashing 6-4; 6-3; 1-3 in favor of Musetti, the Italian appeared to injure his right thigh, receiving treatment from medical personnel. The 5th-seeded Musetti tried to continue his duel with Djokovic, but eventually retired two hours and eight minutes into the match.
"I don’t know what to say except I feel really sorry for him and he was a far better player," ATP official website quoted Djokovic as saying in his on-court interview after the match. "I was on my way home tonight."
"These kinds of things happen in sport. It happened to me a few times, but being in the quarters of a Grand Slam, two sets to love up, and being in full control, it’s so unfortunate. I don’t know what else I can say and I really wish him a speedy recovery. He should have been a winner today, no doubt," he added.
This will be Djokovic’s fourth consecutive semifinal at the Australian Open tournament. The 4th-seeded Serbian is now set to battle for a place in the final against another Italian, 2nd-seeded Jannik Sinner, who breezed past 8th-seeded American Ben Shelton in straight sets 6-3; 6-4; 6-4.
Djokovic’s win today was his 103rd career Australian Open win, putting him ahead of previous all-time record holder at the event Roger Federer of Switzerland.
Djokovic, 38, currently ranked 4th in the ATP (the Association of Tennis Professionals) Rankings, owns 101 career ATP titles. These include his record 24 Grand Slam wins. Djokovic is also the 2024 Olympic champion in addition to his bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and winning the 2010 Davis Cup.
The Serbian player holds the record for most consecutive weeks as the ATP’s number one player in the world at 428 weeks in a row.
The 2026 Australian Open tournament is being played on hard courts at Melbourne Park between January 18 and February 1 and has a purse of some $75 million in prize money up for grabs. The season’s first Grand Slam, this year marks the 114th edition of the tournament. Italy’s Jannik Sinner and American Madison Keys are the reigning Australian Open champions in men’s and women’s singles, respectively.