The Serb was staring down the barrel of a quarter-final exit in Melbourne on Wednesday (28.01.26) and expressed sympathy for the Italian as he succumbed to injury while holding the advantage in the match.

Djokovic said: "I don't know what to say except that I feel really sorry for him.

"He was the far better player, I was on my way home. It happened to me a few times but being in the quarters of a Slam, two sets to love up, in full control, so unfortunate. I wish him a speedy recovery and he should have been the winner today no doubt."

The 24-time Grand Slam winner will now look to take advantage of his reprieve when he takes on defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals on Friday (30.01.26).

Djokovic said: "I'm going to double my prayers tonight of gratitude to God for really giving me the opportunity. I'm going to do my best in a couple of days to use it."

Musetti revealed that he was struggling to comprehend having his hopes dashed by injury when in such a strong position against the former world number one.

The tennis star - who was also forced to pull out through injury when he faced Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals of the French Open last year - said: "We have done all the exams and tests before starting the season to see and to try and prevent these kind of injuries, and then they say nothing came out, so I honestly have no words to describe how I'm feeling right now and how tough is for me this injury in this moment.

"Honestly, I never imagined the feeling of leading two sets to zero against Novak and playing like that and have the lead of the match like that and be forced to retire. Of course, it's really painful."