Novak Djokovic will face Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open after the Italian defeated Taylor Fritz.
Djokovic received a walkover to the last-eight after his fourth-round opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew from the tournament due to injury.
The 10-time Australian Open champion is bidding to reach a fifth grand slam semi-final in a row at the age of 38 as he seeks more tennis history in Melbourne.
Musetti, the fifth seed, is through to his first Australian Open quarter-final after a convincing 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 victory over the ninth seed Fritz.
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.
Djokovic, who is aiming to win the 25th grand slam title of his career, will have the added bonus of extra recovery time after the 16th seed Mensik withdrew from the tournament with an abdominal injury.
“This is a tough one to write. After doing everything we could to keep going, I have to withdraw from the Australian Open due to an abdominal muscle injury that has progressed over the last matches,” said Mensik, who beat Djokovic in the Miami final last season.
“After a long discussion with my team and doctors, we decided not to step on court tomorrow.
“Even though I’m disappointed, making the fourth round here for the first time is something I will carry with me for a long time. I felt so much energy from the fans and the atmosphere in Melbourne was truly special.”
Djokovic had previously spoken of the importance of conserving energy in the grand slams after admitting he “ran out of gas” in his US Open semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner last year.
“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.”
