Novak Djokovic admits what everyone has been thinking.

Novak Djokovic reached the semifinals at the Australian Open for the 13th time in his career. He succeeded with a lot of luck, since, in the quarterfinals, his opponent, Lorenzo Musetti, withdrew in the third set due to injury, after winning the first two sets. In short, the Serb is still in the running thanks to good fortune. At 38 years old, albeit with some physical problems (the Serb also resorted to medical time-outs for blisters on his right foot), the winner of 24 Slam titles is still in the game.

Fabrizio Ponciroli

On the court, Lorenzo Musetti’s dominance was evident. In the first set the Azure is brilliant. His tennis is definitely loose. The Serb struggles to hold his rhythm and suffers from the blue’s play as he takes home the first set (6-4). Nole Djokovic doesn’t take it and tries to fight back but, at 1-1, comes a new break for Lorenzo Musetti who doesn’t look back anymore and makes the second set his as well, closing the file 6-3. At the beginning of the third set, physical problems began for the Italian, who resorted to the doctor to try to find a solution that would allow him to continue playing.

“I don&#8220t know what to say except that I feel very sorry for him” said the 38-year-old Djokovic in the ’on-court interview. “He was the player who was doing better, I should have gone home myself”. This is not the first time in the tournament that Nole Djokovic has advanced thanks to an opponent’s forfeit. It had already happened to him in the fourth round when Jakub Mensik withdrew before the challenge with the Serb, due to an abdominal strain that prevented him from being able to challenge Nole Djokovic.

Nole Djokovic wants to prove that, at 38, he still has what it takes to try to win what would be his 11th Melbourne title and, overall, the 25th Slam of his incredible career. Albeit with a bit of luck, his path continues. He is now two games away from the title.

Clearly, also to be understood is the true physical condition of the Serb who, even against Lorenzo Musetti, had to deal with several discomforts at the physical level, such as blisters on his right foot. Aches and pains that are not preventing him from continuing to run toward what would be a legendary triumph.