'Extremely lucky' Djokovic into Melbourne semifinals

MELBOURNE — An "extremely lucky" Novak Djokovic survived a massive scare to reach the Australian Open semifinals on Wednesday, when Lorenzo Musetti retired hurt while two sets up, keeping alive the Serbian great's bid for a record 25th Grand Slam crown.

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-prone 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.

Djokovic has been trying to move past Margaret Court and clinch a landmark 25th major title since winning his last crown 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 know 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 semifinal to extend his own record.

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

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

Djokovic comfortably held serve, and 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 the mistakes piled up for Djokovic 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 the 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.

Awesome Pegula

Jessica Pegula said she will have to "crack the code" of Elena Rybakina in the semifinals after dismantling Amanda Anisimova, who produced an error-strewn display, in Wednesday's all-American showdown.

The sixth seed won 6-2, 7-6 (1) to end fourth-seeded Anisimova's hopes of a third Grand Slam final in a row.

Pegula is yet to drop a set in Melbourne, and is potentially closing in on a first major crown at the age of 31. The closest she has come was at the 2024 US Open, when she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

The other semifinal at Melbourne Park is between world No 1 Sabalenka and Ukrainian 12th seed Elina Svitolina.

"It's awesome," Pegula said of reaching her first Australian semifinal, having beaten defending champion Madison Keys in the previous round.

"I thought it's got to be coming (a semifinal), I feel like I play really good tennis here, I like the conditions here.

"I've been waiting for the time when I can break through."

Next up is Kazakh fifth seed Rybakina, who defeated second seed Iga Swiatek in their quarterfinal.

Pegula and Rybakina have faced off six times previously, with their head-to-head record split at 3-3.

"She's really tough to play, she has a massive serve, big groundstrokes, she's as cool as a cucumber, you get nothing out of her," said Pegula.

"She's been playing some great tennis since the end of last year, but I'm going to do my best to hopefully crack the code on her."

'Just another day'

Rybakina credited a calmer mindset for helping her stun world No 2 Swiatek Wednesday to race into the semifinals, calling it "just another day".

The Moscow-born Kazakh bounced back from early serving issues to down the second seed 7-5,6-1 and will meet Pegula for a place in Saturday's final.

Rybakina has made the Melbourne final once before, in 2023 when she lost in three tough sets to Sabalenka. She had not been past the last eight in Melbourne since.

"I think, probably, now I'm more calm and going deeper in tournaments," she said.

"In the beginning, when it's the first final and you go so far in a tournament, of course you are more emotional.

"Now, I feel like I'm just doing my job, trying to improve each day. So it's kind of another day, another match."

The 2022 Wimbledon champion has been one of the tour's form players in recent months, winning 18 of her last 19 matches with her only loss in the Brisbane quarterfinals earlier this month.

Agencies