Novak Djokovic booked his place in the Australian Open semi-finals on Wednesday after Lorenzo Musetti was forced to retire through injury.
Musetti was leading Djokovic by two sets to love when he suffered a right leg injury, ending the Italian’s hopes of winning a maiden Grand Slam title.
After the contest, Djokovic admitted he was ‘extremely lucky,’ before sending a supportive message to Musetti on social media.
For Djokovic, this development represented yet another slice of good luck following his near-disqualification in the third round and Jakub Mensik’s withdrawal from his fourth-round match.
Djokovic, who is aiming to win a 25th Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open, will have to defeat Jannik Sinner and then potentially Carlos Alcaraz if he is to win the title.
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And, following his lucky victory against Musetti, Djokovic took issue with a reporter’s question regarding the Serbian star’s current standing in the game.
Novak Djokovic says he is not chasing Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
During Djokovic’s post-match press conference, one reporter asked: “In the early part of your career when you were chasing Roger [Federer] and Rafa [Nadal] for titles, and now, at the back end of your career, you’re chasing Jannik and Carlos.”
Djokovic, clearly disgruntled by the line of questioning, fired back: “I’m chasing Jannik and Carlos? In which sense?”
The reporter replied: “In terms of winning Grand Slam titles just right now.”
Djokovic responded: “So I’m always the chaser and I’m never being chased?”
The journalist acknowledged Djokovic’s achievements in the sport, adding: “In the meantime, you’ve won 24 Grand Slams.”
Djokovic again responded: “Thanks. It’s worth saying that sometimes, right?”
The reporter then rephrased his line of questioning, asking Djokovic if it was possible to compare the way he felt at the start of his career – when he was ‘chasing’ Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer – to the way he feels amid a period of dominance by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic did not enjoy the suggestion that he had been chasing other players for a significant part of his career, labelling the line of questioning as ‘disrespectful.’
He said: “Well, I find it a little bit disrespectful that you kind of miss out on what happened in between where the times when I started chasing, as you say, Rafa and Roger, and now that I’m chasing Carlos and Jannik, and there’s probably about a 15-year period in between where I was dominating the Grand Slams So I think it’s important to put that in perspective. I don’t feel like I’m chasing, to be honest.
“Roger and Rafa will always be my greatest rivals. I have tremendous respect for what Jannik and Carlos are doing and they continue to do and they will do for the next 10 to 15, 20 years. God knows how many years they’re going to play, they’re so young.
“This is a kind of natural cycle in sports. You know, you’re going to have another two superstars that are going to maybe have another third guy, you know, that I’m going to cheer for, because I’ve always been the third guy at the beginning, but it’s good for our sport.
“I think these kind of rivalries and the contrast of the personalities and the styles of play are very good for tennis. How is that affecting me? As I said, I don’t feel like I’m chasing.
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“I’m creating my own history, and I think, you know, I’ve been very clear when I say that my intention is always to — in terms of achievements and objectives and results, I want to get to the championship match in every tournament, particularly slams.
Slams are one of the biggest reasons why I keep on competing and playing tennis. So, yeah, I mean, that’s all I can say.
“Are they better right now than me and all the other guys? Yes, they are. I mean, the quality and the level is amazing. It’s great. It’s phenomenal. But does that mean that I walk out with a white flag? No. I’m going to fight until the last shot, until the last point, and do my very best to challenge them.”
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s recent dominance
The world’s top two players have been almost unbeatable on the ATP Tour in the past two years. The pair have won the last eight Grand Slams combined, contesting seven of the eight finals.
One metric that emphasises Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominance is the current ATP rankings. Alexander Zverev, the world number three, has 5,105 points to his name – less than half the points of Jannik Sinner, the world number two.
Novak Djokovic is set to play Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semi-finals. The Serbian superstar has failed to defeat Sinner in their last five meetings.
Djokovic last beat the Italian in the final of the 2023 ATP Finals.
