They say that luck favors champions, the boldest and bravest. And this Wednesday he was on the side of the greatest in the history of tennis: Novak Djokovic. The 38-year-old Serbian had lost the first two sets against Lorenzo Musettiwho was far superior to him, when the Italian was forced to retire after the fourth game of the third set, due to a muscle injury in his right thigh. The winner of 24 Grand Slamswho had been treated minutes before for a serious blister on his right foot, qualified for the semifinals of the Open the Australia with an adverse score: 4-6, 3-6 and 3-1 in 2h08. On Friday he will face Jannik Sinner oa Ben Shelton.
“I don’t know what to say, except that I feel very sorry for him. He was doing much better than me, who was already on my way home. I wish him a quick recovery. He would have been the winner, without a doubt”said Djokovicwith great elegance. “I didn’t feel the ball in the first two sets, due to the variety and quality of his shots. I have been extremely lucky on this occasion. I am going to double my prayers tonight to be grateful for what has happened to me”added the Balkan, who reached the semifinals of the oceanic tournament for the 13th time. Among all the majors, he extends the absolute record to 54. Furthermore, with the 123rd in his 1,400th match, he surpasses the record for victories of the Open the Australiawhich he shared with Roger Federer.
All this would not have been achieved if the physique of Musetti I would have resisted throughout the entire match. Real bad luck for the Italian against the Belgradebecause in their first confrontation, in Roland Garros 2021Something similar happened to him. He also had a two-set lead and had to abandon in the fifth set. And in the same scenario, three years later, he was also ahead on the scoreboard when Aile came back Now, the face-to-face loses him by a resounding 10-1.
No power
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It is not exactly known (perhaps he will explain it at a press conference) if the problems of Djokovicthe lack of energy and mobility that he showed was due to the blister he had on his foot, but the fact is that he was against the ropes and with many options of being eliminated. But fortune, which smiles on the best, accompanied him until his fifth semi-final of Slam consecutively.
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