Musetti retires with injury, sending Djokovic to Australian Open semis - ESPN

MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic advanced to the Australian Open semifinals for the 13th time after Lorenzo Musetti retired in the third set with an injury after taking the first two sets of their quarterfinal Wednesday night.

Musetti, the No. 5 seed at Melbourne Park, led Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 1-2 when he took a medical timeout for treatment on his upper right leg.

He played on for another game, only to walk to the net and shake hands with Djokovic moments later, down 1-3 in the third set.

Djokovic will continue his bid for an 11th Australian title and a record 25th major but he says he was lucky this time.

«I don't know what to say except that I feel really sorry for him,» the 38-year-old Djokovic said in an on-court interview. «He was the far better player — I was on my way home tonight.»

«These kinds of things happen in sport. It happened to me a few times,» he added, but «he should have been a winner today, no doubt.»

Djokovic took an early break and was a point away from a 3-0 lead in the first set before Musetti responded and took control of the match.

The situation appeared to get more dire for Djokovic when he needed a medical timeout after the second set for a serious blister on the ball of his right foot. He wasn't moving his best, either.

«Blister here and there, nothing major bothering me, I just wasn't really feeling the ball today,» Djokovic said.

It's the second time in as many matches that Djokovic — who had reached the quarterfinals without dropping a set — advanced due to an injured opponent. Just a few days ago, he received a walkover into the quarterfinals when Jakub Mensik withdrew 24 hours ahead of their scheduled fourth-round match with an abdominal injury.

Djokovic will play the winner of