'If anyone deserves a stroke of luck, it's Novak': The nasty handbrake slowing Djokovic fairytale

MELBOURNE: As if dealing with Jannik Sinner's freakish, cat-like movement wasn't enough, Novak Djokovic now has a second opponent to conquer.

The greatest men's tennis player of all time is battling ugly, painful blisters that caused him real issues during Wednesday's dramatic Australian Open quarter-final.

Lorenzo Musetti won the first two sets and appeared nearly certain to upset the 38-year-old, 10-time King of Melbourne.

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But Djokovic, who had retired hurt during last year's semi-finals, then got his own almighty slice of luck on Rod Laver Arena, as Musetti succumbed to an upper right leg injury.

"If you play the Australian Open almost for 20 years, and you've won it 10 times over, you deserve a bit of luck," ex-Aussie star Alicia Molik argued on Stan Sport's Grand Slam Daily.

"If anyone deserves a stroke of luck, it's Novak, but he needed it. You've got to be in it to win it. He got himself into the right position, and that's the way that our grand slams can unfold in the second week. He went the distance in the match and he kept Musetti out there long enough to open up his opportunities. I'm glad the great man is through."

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And so Djokovic and Sinner will meet in their fourth grand slam semi-final of the last two years, with the Italian winning all of the previous three.

Molik believed the blisters on his feet would be a real factor.

"It would be affecting his movement," she said.

"Hopefully he's got some numbing cream or something just to take the acute pain away. Injuries happen when you haven't been on the match court. So maybe he hasn't been match conditioned.

"He's obviously trained enough, but yeah, it can really hinder your performance. There's no question he would be getting the right sort of treatment. Semis of a grand slam, you push through any sort of pain. And he's done that here before too."

Indeed, Djokovic won the 2023 AO title while playing with what he claimed was a 3cm muscle tear in his left hamstring.

"Novak's now had extra time to recover, to rest and conserve his energy," Molik said ahead of Friday's mouthwatering men's semis, featuring all four of the world's top ranked players.

"I'm really interested to see the way that he's going to tackle this match. Whether he's going to try and keep the points shorter, is he going to serve bigger, is he going to throw in the odd serve and volley when Sinner gets drawn back in the baseline?

"I can't wait to watch it. It's going to be one for the ages. I would love to see an upset. I really would. What we're witnessing now from Novak, 38 years of age, going for his 11th Australian Open, it would be absolutely incredible for him to experience another final here.

"I hope the great man gets through. We know that Jannik and Carlos (Alcaraz) will be around for a long time. It feels like the final roll of the dice for Djokovic, so to see him create history would be something very special for all of us."

World No.2 Sinner calmly dismantled big serving Ben Shelton on Wednesday night.

Molik was unconcerned about his apparent physical issues and felt he was moving beautifully.

"Every single time I watch Jannik Sinner play, I absolutely marvel at his speed," Molik said.

"We all are really familiar with his background in skiing, being one of the best downhill juniors in Italy. The way that he moves I think is really taking tennis forwards.

"He's incredible, the way that he slides and breaks to every single shot. He just seems to move around with such ease, it's so difficult to get the ball by him, even for Shelton serving at 230kph."