Melbourne: After a walkover and an in-match retirement, 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic will meet two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.
Djokovic dropped the first two sets of his quarterfinal 6-4, 6-3 Wednesday to fifth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti but was up a break in the third when the 23-year-old Italian retired with an injured right leg.
The 38-year-old Djokovic admitted he was “lucky this time.” It wasn’t really the way Djokovic wanted to cap yet another record his 103rd win at Melbourne Park, one better than Roger Federer’s previous all-time mark, but he accepted any route through.
Sinner was all business in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over eighth-seeded Ben Shelton in a night match to extend his streak to 19 at Melbourne Park. Sinner conceded he was lucky to still be in the tournament, too, after struggling with cramps and staggering in his third-round match until the roof was closed and he went back on court reinvigorated.
The top four seeds have reached the final four in the men’s draw, with No 1 Carlos Alcaraz and No 3 Alexander Zverev set to meet in the other semifinal.
