He will now face defending champion Yannick Sinner in the final. Djokovic's fate was sealed after Lorenzo Musetti was forced to withdraw due to injury.
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Novak Djokovic admitted he was lucky to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Tuesday, the Serbian player's 13th final appearance in the tournament.
Now he will face defending champion Yannick Sinner in the final. Djokovic's fate has been revealed after Lorenzo Musetti was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Earlier, Jessica Puigella and Elena Rebkina reached the semifinals on the women's side with easy wins in straight sets. Now they will compete to reach the final.
Musetti was leading 6-4, 6-3, 1-3 after two sets at Rod Revere Arena. But then he was injured and the 38-year-old Djokovic had the opportunity to win a record 25th Grand Slam title.
Musetti, the fifth seed, was completely dominant before he was treated on the court for his left foot. But he unfortunately withdrew from the match after not being able to continue the match. "I feel very bad for him right now. He was excellent in many ways today. I was on my way home," Djokovic said afterwards. Such an incident has happened in my playing career as well. In fact, the game was on his side, what happened was very sad.'
Djokovic added, 'Musetti should have won today's match, there is no doubt about it. I reached the semi-finals, only because luck supported me.' Djokovic, who won the US Open as his last Grand Slam in 2023, is on a mission to surpass Margaret Court and win a record 25th Grand Slam. The emergence of number one player Carlos Alcaraz along with Sinner has made Djokovic's campaign difficult.
Italian second seed Sinner defeated American eighth seed Ben Selton 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the other last-eight match. Sinner has won his last five matches against Djokovic. After the victory, Sinner said, 'The match against Selton was not easy in any sense. His game has improved every year. I'm happy with how I got to the semifinals.' Alcaraz will face third seed Alexander Zverev in the other semifinal.
On the women's side, Moscow-born Kazakh Rybakina beat second seed Iga Swatik 7-5, 6-1. Pegula defeated American Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 7-6 (1). In the other semifinal, two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka will face Utren's Elina Svitolina. The loss ended Swatik's four-time Grand Slam title run. She has previously won Wimbledon, the French Open and the US Open.
