Fresh injury concern for Novak Djokovic ahead of Jannik Sinner match, ‘it was awful’

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Novak Djokovic scraped through to the Australian Open semifinals…

The 24-time Grand Slam champion trailed Lorenzo Musetti by two sets to love on Rod Laver Arena, but was saved by an injury to the Italian.

Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, Djokovic advanced to the Australian Open semifinals when Musetti retired early in the third set.

Djokovic will now look to compose himself ahead of his semifinal match with Jannik Sinner, the two-time defending champion.

He may also need to spend some time on the recovery table after receiving medical attention during his win over Musetti.

Commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live, former British star Annabel Croft shared her thoughts on Djokovic’s health.

‘It was awful’ – Annabel Croft on Novak Djokovic’s ‘gaping’ blister

Croft reflected on the ‘extraordinary’ conclusion to Musetti and Djokovic’s quarterfinal clash.

“It was extraordinary to witness the way it unfolded at the end of the match. It was such a one-sided affair up until the final stages,” said Croft.

“[Lorenzo] Musetti was absolutely sensational while [Novak] Djokovic looked all out of sorts, and I was noticing that he wasn’t really running for the ball.

“He looked really unbalanced, and he wasn’t really tracking those balls down.”

She then shared what she noticed during Djokovic’s injury timeout.

“Suddenly, Djokovic got his trainer out, and there was a massive amount of taping across his shoulders, so there’s clearly an issue in the upper body,” said Croft.

“But then he took his socks and shoes off, ripped off a bandage around the foot, and we could see the most gaping blister.

“It was awful – very deep, very large, and right on the ball of his foot, which explains why he wasn’t tracking.

“He joked afterwards that he hopes to repair his feet in a day and a half, but those did not look good.”

Djokovic is clearly not 100% fit, which is bad news, given what’s coming up…

If he is to win the elusive 25th Grand Slam, he may well need to beat Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in back-to-back matches.

Defeating one of the dominant duo is hard enough, but doing so in consecutive matches is near-impossible.

And, even if it’s not Alcaraz that awaits Djokovic in the final, he won’t be feeling much more confident, as Alexander Zverev (the other semifinalist) beat the Serb in Melbourne 12 months ago.

Djokovic must recover quickly if he wants any chance of lifting the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup on Sunday.

Novak Djokovic’s route to the Australian Open semifinals

The 38-year-old has now reached five consecutive Grand Slam semifinals.

After falling short in his last four semifinals, Djokovic will be determined to secure the win this time around.

He certainly can’t have any complaints about his route to the final four, having benefited from both a withdrawal and a retirement this year.

• 2026 Australian Open 1R [WIN] vs Pedro Martinez, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
• 2026 Australian Open 2R [WIN] vs Francesco Maestrelli, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
• 2026 Australian Open 3R [WIN] vs Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6
• 2026 Australian Open 4R [WALKOVER] vs Jakub Mensik
• 2026 Australian Open QF [WIN] vs Lorenzo Musetti, 4-6, 3-6, 3-1 (RET)

If he is to win another Grand Slam before the end of his career, you can’t help but feel like this is Djokovic’s best chance.

Yes, he was poor against Musetti, and yes, the blister is a concern, but the Serb hasn’t spent too much time on court so far.

Before the tournament began, several fans and pundits shared the theory that Djokovic can only compete with Sinner and Alcaraz at the back-end of Grand Slams if he arrives to face them fresh and with energy left in the tank.

He’s done exactly that at the 2026 Australian Open, even if he was very fortunate at times.

Just two wins away from the title he craves, Djokovic must give it everything he has to take down his younger rivals one final time.

He’ll resume his Australian Open title bid in the semifinals against Sinner on Friday, January 30.