Italian Novak Djokovic will face Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open after defeating Taylor Fritz.
Djokovic advanced to the quarterfinals after fourth-round opponent Jakub Mencic withdrew due to injury.
advertise
The 10-time Australian Open champion is seeking a fifth consecutive Grand Slam semi-final at the age of 38 and is seeking more tennis history in Melbourne.
Fifth seed Musetti convincingly defeated ninth seed Fritz 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time.
Musetti was in impressive form as he defeated Fritz in straight sets (Reuters)
Djokovic has beaten Musetti in nine of the 10 meetings between the two men, including six in a row. Their most recent match was the Athens final at the end of last season, where Djokovic won his 101st career title in three hours of play.
Prior to this, Djokovic also defeated Musetti in the semi-finals of Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics, two of their four meetings since the 2024 season, and the 23-year-old’s only victory came on the clay court of Monte Carlo in 2023.
advertise
Djokovic, who is aiming to win a 25th career Grand Slam title, will be given extra recovery time after 16th seed Mencic withdrew from the tournament with an abdominal injury.
“This is a difficult article to write. After we did everything we could to keep going, I had to withdraw from the Australian Open due to an abdominal muscle injury that worsened in the past tournament,” said Mencic, who beat Djokovic in the Miami final last season.
Djokovic defeated Musetti in an epic three-set, three-hour match in Athens last season (Getty Images)
“After lengthy discussions with my team and doctors, we have decided not to play tomorrow.
“Even though I’m disappointed, getting to the fourth round here for the first time is something I will remember for a long time. I felt so much energy from the fans and the atmosphere in Melbourne was really special.”
advertise
Djokovic has previously spoken about the importance of conserving energy at Grand Slam tournaments after admitting he “ran out of energy” after losing to Jannik Sinner in the US Open semi-finals last year.
“There are always some physical changes, but I think overall I feel as good as ever,” Djokovic said after his third-round win over Botik van der Zandschulp, who nearly got ejected after hitting a ball close to the head of a ball boy.
“I can’t predict the future, I don’t know how things are going to go from today onwards, but I’m doing the best I can.”