Novak Djokovic is into another semifinal at the Australian Open, but his match against Lorenzo Musetti was far from ideal for him.
Djokovic had impressed en route to the Australian Open quarterfinals, having not dropped a single set.
The 38-year-old also appeared to be feeling good physically, particularly after Djokovic’s fourth round opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew.
However, this all appeared to flip on its head in his quarterfinal against Musetti, as Djokovic struggled with blisters, found himself two sets down and was involved in a dispute with umpire James Keothavong.
Novak Djokovic involved in dispute with umpire at the Australian Open
Musetti had only beaten Djokovic once in their 10 previous meetings, which had occurred nearly three years ago.
Despite the one-sided head-to-head, Musetti took a two set lead against Djokovic and looked to be on his way to a first Australian Open semifinal.
During these first two sets, Djokovic found himself embroiled in a dispute with the aforementioned chair umpire after he was handed a time violation.
Djokovic was awarded a time violation warning by Keothavong in the first set after he was deemed not to be ready in time for Musetti’s serve.
However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion took exception to this and explained to Keothavong that he was looking for his cap and claimed that he could have given him a heads up.
“I was looking for my cap. I was changing,” Djokovic told Keothavong. “You could’ve given me a heads up, as a gentleman and someone who’s been in sport for a couple decades…
“Mid first set, first time I go over and you give me a warning. You think that’s fair? I’m not saying it’s against the rules, because I went over. But you could’ve given me a heads up right? You could’ve told me ‘Hey Novak, hurry up.’ Right?”
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Novak Djokovic praised for sportsmanship which cost him first set against Lorenzo Musetti
While Djokovic was not on the right side of the umpire during his match with Musetti, he was praised for something else he did during the second set of the match.
When serving to stay in that second set, Djokovic was deemed to have won the point to go 40-15 up in the game.
However, the world number four confessed to umpire Keothavong that he had actually touched the ball that Musetti hit out and therefore the point was awarded to his opponent.
Djokovic would go on to be broken and lose the second set, but the 10-time Australian Open champion has received a lot of praise for his actions.
One person wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), “Respect for Djokovic surrendering a point in a key game after volunteering that he had made contact with the ball even though it had not been called and he had been awarded the point.
“Shouldn’t be rare but it is and it cost him: he went on to be broken by Musetti and go down two sets to love.”
Another added, “Novak conceding a point “I touched it” makes it 30-all when the umpire called it 40-15. Sportsmanship.”
The same sentiment was echoed once again, “Respect for Djokovic surrendering a point in a key game after volunteering that he had made contact with the ball even though it had not been called and he had been awarded the point.”
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Although he went two sets down in his quarterfinal match, Djokovic was quickly into the semifinals after Musetti retired due to a seemingly sudden injury.
As a result, Djokovic is now into his 13th Australian Open semifinal, where he will face either Jannik Sinner or Ben Shelton.
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