Novak Djokovic faces Lorenzo Musetti in the Australian Open quarter-finals as he chases a 25th Grand Slam title
Novak Djokovic continues his pursuit of a 25th Grand Slam title against Lorenzo Musetti. It’s fourth in the world versus fifth in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
It was eighteen years ago that Djokovic first disrupted Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s dominance by becoming champion Down Under. And despite approaching 40, the Serbian legend remains at the top of his game.
He faces rising Italian star Musetti in the early hours of Wednesday morning UK time after receiving a walkover to the last eight when Jakub Mensik withdrew injured. When Federer and Nadal faded from the elite level, Djokovic established an almighty dominance for several years, winning Wimbledon four consecutive times between 2018 and 2022.
However, two potential legends of the game have emerged and are now referred to as ‘The Big Two’. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have been simply irresistible in recent years and their rivalry has been captivating to watch, with the likes of Alexander Zverev and Djokovic responsible for pushing the pair to their limits.
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For instance, two years ago in Melbourne, Djokovic lost to Sinner in the semi-finals before the Italian went on to claim the title. Such is Djokovic’s character that his reaction to the loss left tennis icon Boris Becker stunned.
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Djokovic has been pursuing a 25th Grand Slam crown for years, with the defeat to Sinner marking another major obstacle in his pursuit of that milestone. Yet the manner in which he conducted himself following the loss was admirable and, in many respects, stoic, as Becker outlined.
“In terms of form, it wasn’t his best Australian Open,” the German told Eurosport. “He struggled with his form, his rhythm and his serve in almost all of his matches.
“And then he came up against a stronger opponent. These are surprising pictures [of Djokovic]. I don’t usually see him this relaxed after defeats.
“Perhaps he has realised that he doesn’t have the form at the moment and that he didn’t lose due to bad luck, but that the other player was simply better today. That’s what makes a champion, recognising that today just wasn’t his day.”
Becker’s analysis proved spot-on as well. Following the 2024 loss, Djokovic said: “It is not a very pleasant feeling playing this way. But at the same time, credit to [Sinner] for doing everything better than me in every aspect of the game.
“He’s deservedly in the final. He outplayed me completely. I was shocked with my level – in a bad way.
“There was not much I was doing right in the first two sets. I guess this is one of the worst Grand Slam matches I’ve ever played.”
With Sinner set to take on Ben Shelton in his quarter-final encounter, the pair could be heading for a rematch this week. The 24-year-old is currently enjoying a five-match winning streak in their head-to-head record.
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