Novak Djokovic progresses to the Australian Open semi-finals after Lorenzo Musetti retires, while there are also wins for Jannik Sinner, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula.
24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic says he felt “disrespectful” after being asked how he felt “chasing” Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, after previously “chasing” Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal during the early parts of his career.
Novak Djokovic has only played 11 sets on his way to the Australian Open semi-finals, largely thanks to some good fortune. Does that help or hinder him?
Jessica Pegula and Iga Swiatek echo Coco Gauff’s concerns over the use of cameras away from the court at the Australian Open, insisting more privacy is needed for all players competing.
Jannik Sinner kept his Australian Open three-peat bid rolling on Wednesday, when he produced another ruthless performance to brush aside Ben Shelton and extend his stranglehold against the American.
The two-time defending champion, unbeaten in Melbourne since 2023, never looked in serious danger against Shelton, moving past the eighth seed 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to book his place in the semi-finals.
Shelton had dropped just one set on his way to a third Australian Open quarter-final, but as in the pair’s previous meetings, he struggled to unleash his explosive game against the Italian. Sinner exposed Shelton’s backhand, rushed him on the forehand wing and dictated from the baseline to improve his Lexus ATP Head2Head record to a commanding 9-1. All four of their major encounters have now gone Sinner’s way, twice in Australia and twice at Wimbledon.
“It is very tough to play against Ben,” Sinner said. “He has a huge, huge serve and I feel like he is improving so much, year after year. Especially after the offseason, you don’t know how certain players are going to play against you and change lots of things. I am very happy with today’s performance.”
[NO 1 CLUB]Into his ninth Grand Slam semi-final and third at the Australian Open, the four-time major champion faces a blockbuster next test against record 10-time winner Novak Djokovic. Sinner has enjoyed notable semi-final success against the Serbian before, defeating him at that stage at the Australian Open (2024), Roland Garros (2025) and Wimbledon (2025).
“These are the moments you practise for,” Sinner said on facing Djokovic. “I will wake up in the morning and will look forward to playing a good match hopefully. If you want to win you have to play at your best. In the past I have had great lessons and it doesn’t really matter the result, it improves you as a player and a person. We are lucky to still have Novak here, playing incredible tennis at his age.”
HYPED! 😳
Novak Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner for a place in the 2026 Australian Open final#AO26 pic.twitter.com/zzxBo1zBsF
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 28, 2026
Rock-solid behind his first serve and unflinching in the longer rallies, the second seed never allowed Shelton a foothold, calmly absorbing pace before redirecting it with interest. Sinner quickly found his range on Rod Laver Arena, announcing his intent with a backhand around-the-net-post winner to open the third game. Moments later, he struck the decisive blow, breaking Shelton’s serve when the World No. 7 pushed a forehand into the bottom of the net to slip behind 1-3.
Sinner closed out the opening set in commanding fashion, finishing with an 18–4 winners-to-unforced-errors advantage in the set, and carried that momentum seamlessly into the second. The pressure on Shelton’s game only intensified, with the three-time tour-level titlist unable to settle into a clear pattern of play and faltering at crucial moments. Shelton squandered all three break points he created in the set and leaked a further 17 unforced errors, allowing Sinner to pull further clear.
Sinner, who appeared to struggle physically in the closing stages of the second set, earned the decisive break of the third set in the ninth game when Shelton hit a double fault down 15/40. The Italian closed out on serve to advance after two hours and 23 minutes.
Did You Know?
Sinner has won all 18 of his Grand Slam matches against American opponents and owns a 6-2 record against Top 10 players at the hard-court major, having lost his first two such encounters to Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2022 and 2023.
Novak Djokovic has never been one to downplay his ambitions, and even at 38, he isn’t about to start now.
After Lorenzo Musetti was forced to retire on Wednesday while holding a two-set lead, the Serbian moved into his 13th Australian Open semi-final. Standing between Djokovic and a record-extending 11th title at Melbourne Park is the sport’s new power struggle.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the top two players in the PIF ATP Rankings, have split the past eight major titles between them, and Djokovic could be required to beat both to lift the trophy again. Yet while he acknowledges the momentum of the game’s newest rivalry, Djokovic’s mind still drifts to the battles that defined an era.
“Roger and Rafa will always be my greatest rivals,” said Djokovic, who owns a positive Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Federer and Nadal. “I have tremendous respect for what Jannik and Carlos are doing and what 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 natural cycle in sports. You’re going to have another two superstars [and] maybe have another third guy — who 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 kinds of rivalries and the contrast of the personalities and the styles of play are very good for tennis.”
[NO 1 CLUB]The numbers underline just how present Djokovic still is. In 2025, he reached the semi-finals at all four majors, retiring against Alexander Zverev in Melbourne, losing to Sinner in straight sets at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and falling to Alcaraz at the US Open.
While results suggest the new generation has seized the upper hand, Djokovic rejects the idea that he is chasing anyone else’s legacy.
“How is [their rivalry] affecting me? As I said, I don’t feel like I’m chasing. I’m creating my own history,” Djokovic said. “I’ve been very clear when I say that my intention is always in terms of achievements, 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.
“Are they better right now than me and all the other guys? Yes, they are. 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.”
With his opening-round win over Pedro Martinez, he became the first player to record 100 victories at three different Grand Slam events. Now, he is chasing a record 25th major title, one with which he would move him clear of Margaret Court atop the all-time list.
A fourth-round walkover following Jakub Mensik’s withdrawal has afforded Djokovic extra recovery time, raising questions about his physical condition as he awaits either two-time defending champion Sinner in Friday’s semi-final. Asked how his body is holding up, Djokovic kept it simple.
“I had a blister that needed to be looked at and retaped,” Djokovic said. “That’s what I did last match and now. That’s the biggest of my concerns, to be honest. I don’t have any other major issues.
“You always have some minor issues with your body, at least for me every single day. But major issues? No. Thankfully, that’s still not posing a challenge for me and an obstacle in order for me to be able to play and move around the way I want to.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos strengthened their push for a maiden Australian Open title on Wednesday, when they moved into the semi-finals.
The third seeds — the highest-ranked team left in the draw — defeated Brazilians Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos 6-3, 6-4. Granollers and Zeballos won their first two major trophies at Roland Garros and the US Open last year and will next face sixth seeds Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski at Melbourne Park.
Harrison and Skupski, who both competed at the Nitto ATP Finals with different partners, are playing in just their second tournament together. The American-British duo defeated Petr Nouza and Patrik Rikl 6-2, 6-3 to reach the last four.
In the top half of the draw, Luke Johnson and Jan Zielinski upset fourth seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic 7-6(5), 6-2. They converted three of the four break points they created against the former World No. 1s, according to Infosys Stats, en route to their first major semi-final as a team.
They will face Aussie wild cards Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans, who overcame 12th seeds Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul 6-4, 7-6(3) on Tuesday. Kubler won the 2023 Australian Open title, partnering Rinky Hijikata to defeat Hugo Nys and Zielinski. Polmans is back in the semi-finals in Melbourne for the first time since 2017.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Lorenzo Musetti admitted he was struggling for words after being forced to retire while two sets up in his Australian Open quarter-final against Novak Djokovic.
The No. 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings produced a sublime performance for the best part of two hours on Wednesday to move to the brink of a semi-final spot in Melbourne, but his efforts were undermined by an upper right leg injury. Struggling to move freely, Musetti retired when 1-3 down in the third set and later revealed it had not been a sudden outbreak of pain.
“I felt it at the beginning of the second set,” said Musetti in his post-match press conference. “I felt there was something strange in my right leg. I continued to play, because I was playing really, really, really well, but I was feeling that the pain was increasing, and the problem was not going away.
“At the end, when I took the medical timeout, to stay three minutes, I sat, and when I started to play again, I felt even more and the level of the pain was getting higher and higher. So not much to say about it.”
Wishing you a speedy recovery, Lorenzo Musetti 🫶@AustralianOpen | #AO26 pic.twitter.com/lHq4IcmO7j
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 28, 2026
Musetti was in a prime position to claim his first win against Djokovic at a major in four attempts, and just his second triumph in 11 Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings overall between the two. The 23-year-old, who was competing in his maiden Australian Open quarter-final, acknowledged that the timing of the injury was particularly cruel.
“Definitely, yes,” said Musetti, when asked whether it was the toughest injury-related situation of his career. “Honestly, I never imagined the feeling of leading two sets to zero against Novak and playing like that. Having the lead in the match like that and being forced to retire is something that, of course, I could never imagine. Of course, it’s really painful.”
While he attempted to play on even after having treatment from the tournament physio at 1-2 in the second set, Musetti revealed any hopes that he could finish the match were unrealistic.
“It was a little bit too high, so it was impossible to tape it,” said the two-time ATP Tour champion. “I feel personally that I know my body, and I feel personally that I’m kind of secure that this is a tear, unfortunately.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Novak Djokovic’s bid for more tennis history is still alive as he scrapes into the Australian Open semi-finals as Lorenzo Musetti retires injured at two sets up.
Novak Djokovic has added another milestone to his illustrious career simply by stepping on court Wednesday for his Australian Open quarter-final against Lorenzo Musetti.
The former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Djokovic has become just the third man to play 1,400 tour-level matches. Heading into his milestone-breaking meeting with Musetti, Djokovic held a 1166-233 career record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
The 38-year-old Djokovic joins his fellow ATP No. 1 Club members Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer as the only men to hit 1,400 tour-level outings. Djokovic holds the best winning percentage (83.29%) of the three, followed by Federer (82%) and Connors (81.8%).
| Player | Matches | W/L Record | Win % |
| Jimmy Connors | 1,557 | 1274-283 | 81.8 |
| Roger Federer | 1,526 | 1251-275 | 82 |
| Novak Djokovic | 1,400* | 1163-233 | 83.3 |
| Ivan Lendl | 1,310 | 1068-242 | 81.5 |
| Rafael Nadal | 1,308 | 1080-228 | 82.6 |
Djokovic currently playing his 1,400th tour-level match at 2026 Australian Open.
Only two men aside from Connors, Federer and Djokovic have even contested more than 1,300 tour-level matches. They are Rafael Nadal and Ivan Lendl, who are also former World No. 1s.
Djokovic’s win percentage is the best of all 29 members of the ATP No. 1 Club. His closest rival in that category is Nadal, who retired in 2024 with a 1080-228 record in tour-level matches, equivalent to an 82.6% success rate.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]