Novak Djokovic bids for another grand slam semi-final at the Australian Open as he takes on fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti.
Djokovic reached all four semi-finals at the grand slam tournaments last year, at the age of 38, only to run into injury or one of Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz.
His latest pursuit of a 25th grand slam title has been aided by a walkover in the fourth round, as Jakub Mensik pulled out of the tournament due to injury.
Italian Musetti, who is through to his first Australian Open semi-final, will be a tough test, but Djokovic won their last meeting in an epic three-hour Athens final at the end of last year.
Musetti has only won one of his 10 matches against Djokovic, who is a 10-time champion at Melbourne Park.
Djokovic v Musetti start time
The men’s quarter-final has been scheduled third on Rod Laver Arena, following the two previous women’s quarter-finals between Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova. Pegula won the first set against Anisimova and the second set of their quarter-final began at around 3:30am UK time, and won the match at 4:15am UK time.
Djokovic, who prefers the night conditions, will be playing in the afternoon slot in Melbourne, at around 4:30am UK time.
Is the Australian Open on TV?
The tournament will be shown live on TNT Sports in the UK as well as online on Discovery+.
In the US, it will be shown live on ESPN and Tennis Channel.
Australian Open order of play
Day Eleven - Wednesday 28 January
Rod Laver Arena
12:30 AM GMT
- Elena Rybakina (5), Kazakhstan, def. Iga Swiatek (2), Poland, 7-5, 6-1.
- Jessica Pegula (USA) [6] vs. Amanda Anisimova (USA) [4]
- Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) [5] vs. Novak Djokovic (SRB) [4]
8:00 AM GMT
- Ben Shelton (USA) [8] vs. Jannik Sinner (ITA) [2]
Djokovic v Musetti head-to-head
Djokovic has beaten Musetti in nine of their 10 meetings, including the last six in a row. Their most recent battle came in the Athens final late last season, as Djokovic won his 101st career title in a three-hour battle.
Before then, Djokovic also defeated Musetti in the semi-finals of Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics, in two of their four meetings from the 2024 season, while the 23-year-old’s only win came on clay in Monte Carlo in 2023.
What have the players said?
“There's always something that is happening with the body, but I think generally I feel as good as I have felt in a while,” Djokovic said after his third-round win over Botic van de Zandschulp, where he narrowly avoided being defaulted from the tournament after striking a ball near the head of a ball girl.
"I cannot predict the future, I don't know how things are going to unfold from this day onwards, but I'm doing everything I can."
“Playing against Novak is always challenging, especially here, which he won many, many, many times,” Musetti said.
“I think it will be a tough match, for sure. Of course, he's feeling good. He hasn’t lost a set. He had the chance to rest for a few days. I think at this age, I think he was happy about it, of course, to try to be well-prepared and well-relaxed for this match.
“But of course we know each other pretty well because we played a lot. Just won once against him. Hopefully I'll take my revenge, because last time in Athens we were really, really close. I feel like I have another chance now.”
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