Novak Djokovic was on his way home. Two sets down to Lorenzo Musetti, the dream of a record 25th grand slam title at the Australian Open looked to be fading from sight.
He could have had no complaints, such was his difficultly in keeping the ball in the court as the timing of his shots abandoned him. The unforced error count stood at 31 and was rising. A troublesome blister on his right toe forced a medical timeout.
But then the tennis gods answered his prayers. After first noticing “something strange” in his right leg at the beginning of the second set, the pain Musetti was dealing with became too much to bear. The look on the Italian’s face as he winced towards his coaches said it all: he was done. Unable to run side to side, he was forced to retire to send Djokovic through.
“I don't know what to say except that I feel really sorry for him and he was a far better player, a stunned Djokovic said after applauding Musetti off the court. ”I was on my way home tonight. He should have been a winner today, there's no doubt.
“I'm just extremely lucky to get to get through this one today. I had a walkover in the fourth round. Today, should have been beaten. Two sets down and I get the win. So I mean, I'm gonna double my prayers tonight for sure, and gratitude to God for really giving me this opportunity once again. I'm gonna do my best in a couple of days to use it.”
It certainly feels like there is someone, somewhere watching over Djokovic and guiding the 38-year-old towards what would be a historic, record 25th grand slam title at the Australian Open.
He received a walkover from the fourth round when his opponent, the talented Czech Jakub Mensik, withdrew due to an abdominal injury. Djokovic also narrowly avoided being defaulted from the tournament after striking a ball near the head of a ball girl during his third-round win over Botic van de Zandschulp.
Now, Djokovic will face either Jannik Sinner or Ben Shelton in Friday’s semi-finals after playing just 11 full sets at the tournament. With his time on court reduced first by three efficient straight-sets wins, then a walkover, and now a retirement when a five-set comeback was required, Djokovic will arrive at the business end of the tournament with plenty left in the tank. That’s exactly what Djokovic needed after admitting he “ran out of gas” in defeats to Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in semi-finals last year.
The 10-time champion still has plenty he needs to figure out, however. He admitted he lacked rhythm, having not played since Saturday due to the fourth-round walkover. On paper, it should have helped Djokovic, but Musetti was running away with the quarter-final and dominating the rallies with his variety and spin before injury struck. ”To be quite frank, I have no idea at this stage of my career what really serves me, what doesn't,” Djokovic admitted.
But he gets another opportunity to figure that out.
Strangely, when Djokovic was heading towards the exit door, it had appeared that he would come to regret an extraordinary act of sportsmanship earlier in the match.
In the second set, Djokovic was down a break, serving at 3-5, when he sent Musetti chasing towards the tramlines by landing a volley onto the line. Musetti reached the ball by directed the angled crosscourt return out of the court, as Djokovic lunged to try and return it.
By winning the point, Djokovic would have moved 40-15 up in the game, and likely would have forced the Musetti to serve for the set. Instead, Djokovic stopped play and told umpire James Keothavong that he had touched the ball before it had landed out, therefore awarding Musetti the point.
On first look, it did not appear that Djokovic had touched the ball, but replays showed that the Serbian had brushed it with his frame. Musetti, if he had spotted it, would have been able to request a VAR-style umpire review. Umpire Keothavong did not appear to notice that Djokovic had touched the ball.
It meant Djokovic faced 30-30 on serve instead of 40-15 and, although he won the next point with a forehand winner, Djokovic was dragged to deuce, where he lost the game and the set. It was only then, after taking a medical timeout for treatment on his blister, that Djokovic’s luck began to turn.
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