{"id":10133,"date":"2026-01-28T10:04:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T10:04:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=10133"},"modified":"2026-01-28T10:04:57","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T10:04:57","slug":"djokovic-reaches-australian-open-semifinal-after-musetti-retires-injured-tennis-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=10133","title":{"rendered":"Djokovic reaches Australian Open semifinal after Musetti retires injured | Tennis News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Former champion Novak Djokovic is through to last 4 in Melbourne after frontrunner Lorenzo Musetti suffers groin injury.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 28 Jan 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">28 Jan 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>An \u201cextremely lucky\u201d Novak Djokovic survived a huge scare to reach the Australian Open semifinals on Wednesday when Lorenzo Musetti retired hurt while two sets up, keeping alive the Serbian great\u2019s bid for a 25th Grand Slam crown.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>The let-off kept alive his bid to secure a record 25th major title.<\/p>\n<p>Djokovic has been trying to move past Margaret Court and clinch the landmark since his last one at the US Open in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>It has proved increasingly difficult with the emergence of Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel really sorry for him, he was the far better player, I was on my way home tonight,\u201d said Djokovic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has happened to me a few times. He was in full control.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo unfortunate, I don\u2019t know what else to say. He should have been the winner today, no doubt. I am extremely lucky to get through this one today.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4270662\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4270662\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4270662\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AFP__20260128__949F96A__v1__HighRes__TennisAusOpen-1769585931.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C513&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Novak Djokovic in action.\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4270662\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Djokovic was dominated by Musetti during their quarterfinal match on Rod Laver Arena [Izhar Khan\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"victory-snatched-from-the-jaws-of-defeat\">Victory snatched from the jaws of defeat<\/h2>\n<p>With the victory against Musetti, Djokovic claimed sole ownership of most singles wins at Melbourne Park, surpassing Roger Federer with his 103rd.<\/p>\n<p>It also put him into a 54th Slam semifinal to extend his own record.<\/p>\n<p>But it looked to all be over for the 38-year-old.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>The Italian, though, quickly settled, and a slew of poor shots by the Serb opened the door to a comeback in the next game.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>But it was just delaying the inevitable, and Musetti took the set in 54 minutes, then broke again to open set two.<\/p>\n<p>Djokovic was not done yet, breaking back, but then threw it away again with yet more errors to concede serve for a fourth time.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>But Musetti needed treatment on a thigh issue after falling 2-1 down in the third and was clearly hurting, with his movement restricted.<\/p>\n<p>He tried to carry on, but had no choice but to throw in the towel.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4270674\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4270674\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4270674\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AFP__20260128__949F97M__v1__HighRes__TennisAusOpen-1769586028.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C513&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti react.\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4270674\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Musetti, right, walks off the court with Djokovic after he abruptly retired with a leg injury while leading the 24-time grand slam winner 6-4, 6-3, 1-3 on Wednesday [Izhar Khan\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former champion Novak Djokovic is through to last 4 in Melbourne after frontrunner Lorenzo Musetti suffers groin injury. Published On 28 Jan 202628 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share An \u201cextremely lucky\u201d Novak Djokovic survived a huge scare to reach the Australian Open semifinals on Wednesday when Lorenzo Musetti retired [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}