Novak Djokovic has found himself in the Australian Open semi-finals once again after benefitting from a huge slice of luck.
The Serbian superstar was down two sets against Lorenzo Musetti when the Italian suffered a debilitating right leg injury that forced him to retire from the match.
Consequently, Djokovic will play against Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semi-finals.
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Djokovic has struggled against Sinner in recent years, failing to defeat the Italian in their last five meetings.
Ahead of Friday’s contest, Djokovic has called upon the services of an Australian player to help prepare him for the clash with Sinner.
Novak Djokovic has been training with Daniel Jovanovski
According to Italian journalist Carlo Galati, Novak Djokovic has been training indoors at the Australian National Tennis Centre in Melbourne Park.
Galati reports that Djokovic later moved to the 1573 Arena to train with 17-year-old Australian player Daniel Jovanovski – a player born in Melbourne who is of Macedonian origin.
Galati also notes that Djokovic was working on his serve and return – two areas that will be vitally important if he is to defeat Sinner on Friday.
As of January 26, Jovanovski achieved his highest-ever ranking on the ITF junior tour, reaching world number 35.
The Australian, who is ranked 1,289 on the ATP Tour, last played a singles match in the Australian Open Boys’ Singles event.
Jovanovski reached the second round, before losing to Luís Augusto Miguel – otherwise known as ‘Guto.’
Novak Djokovic’s last win against Jannik Sinner
It has been two-and-a-half years since Novak Djokovic claimed a victory against Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic defeated Sinner 6-3, 6-3 in the final of the 2023 ATP Finals, claiming his seventh title at the event.
After the final, Djokovic told reporters: “I think the match against Alcaraz last night and the one tonight, probably two best matches under the circumstances that I’ve played this season against two players that are in fantastic form. I mean, obviously the quality of Alcaraz and Sinner we all know.
“Playing Sinner tonight in front of his home crowd, and the way I finished the tournament and finished the season is amazing. I’m very, very proud of the performance.
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“Obviously what Goran [Ivanisevic] was referring to is probably after I clinched the year-end number one with the first win over Rune, I was not mentally present I think fully in the tournament. After that I was like, yeah, kind of half in, half out feeling. That reflected on my level of tennis and my performance and the way I felt on the court.
“Obviously thanks to Sinner for allowing me to be in the semifinals when I was there. I thought now, okay, I’m going to try and step it up. And I did. I played two really high-level matches.
“I started very aggressively tonight against Jannik, which was the difference to the group stage match we had against each other. I think that match helped me prepare myself better for the atmosphere, the crowd. Obviously I analyzed the match and I looked what I could have done better. I think I’ve done it very well for the entire match.”
Since defeating Sinner in London, Djokovic has lost five consecutive matches against the Italian star.
After defeating Lorenzo Musetti on Wednesday, Djokovic issued a fiery response when asked if he was ‘chasing’ Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
