Lorenzo Musetti brushed aside Taylor Fritz in straight sets to reach his first Australian Open quarter-final, setting up a blockbuster last-eight clash with Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park.
A distraught Lorenzo Musetti was struggling to comprehend how injury robbed him of victory against Novak Djokovic and a place in the Australian Open semi-final on Wednesday.
Novak Djokovic's quest for a record Grand Slam title continued in dramatic circumstances after fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti quit their Australian Open quarter-final match with an injury after taking a two-set lead at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
The opening Grand Slam of the year begins at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
Novak Djokovic, the 10-times Australian Open champion, will continue his quest for a record-extending Melbourne Park title and a 25th Grand Slam crown to surpass the record he currently shares with Margaret Court.
Novak Djokovic took encouragement from his run to the Australian Open final and pledged to keep fighting at the Grand Slams after Carlos Alcaraz again denied his bid for a record 25th major title.
Vintage Djokovic dethrones Sinner to set up Alcaraz final at Australian Open
Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka bowed out of his last Australian Open on Saturday, the three-times major winner losing 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 to American Taylor Fritz and soaking up warm applause as a muchloved former champion.
Defending champion Jannik Sinner scorched American eighth seed Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and moved into the Australian Open semi-finals.
The 38-year-old said he had been dealing with the injury throughout the tournament in Athens.
Tough road for defending champion Keys
IMAGES from the Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park in Melbourne on Thursday.
The day session attendance of 51,048 was some 10,000 short of day six on Friday and even less than last year's corresponding session.
The event comes at a time when tennis is facing criticism over its relentless tour schedule.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are poised to reignite their rivalry at the ATP Finals, with the year-ending championship that begins on Sunday expected to produce another title showdown between the pair in a season that has belonged to them.
Jannik Sinner was in ominous form on the Rod Laver Arena court he has ruled for two years before the match was cut short.
Italy stayed on course for a Davis Cup 'three-peat' with a convincing victory over Austria in Bologna on Wednesday to set up a semi-final clash against Belgium.
Defending champion Jannik Sinner reached the semi-finals of the ATP Finals with a 6-4, 6-3 win over two-times winner Alexander Zverev on Wednesday, with Ben Shelton eliminated after losing earlier to Felix Auger-Aliassime in the same group.
Spain bounced back from an opening singles defeat on Thursday to beat the Czech Republic 2-1 and reach the Davis Cup semi-finals for the first time in six years where they will face Germany, who earned their own comeback win over Argentina.
Hosts Italy closed in on a third successive Davis Cup title as Flavio Cobolli saved seven match points to beat Belgium's Zizou Bergs in a thriller and seal a 2-0 semi-final victory on Friday.
Shelton was broken in the opening and closing games of the first set, unable to take advantage of a break point at 2-1 down while Sinner was always capable of pulling out an ace at the crucial time, hitting two in that fourth game to hold serve.
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz came under extreme pressure before overcoming American Taylor Fritz 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-3 in a thrilling round-robin match at the ATP Finals on Tuesday, leaving the Spaniard on two wins from two.
Jannik Sinner has decided not to take part in this year's Davis Cup Finals with reigning champions Italy confirming his absence in Monday's team announcement, while world number one Carlos Alcaraz will represent Spain at next month's competition.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are among the world's top players calling for the Davis Cup to return to its traditional home-and-away format and be staged over two years, a proposal backed by ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi.
Jannik Sinner began his bid to retain the ATP Finals title with a resounding 7-5, 6-1 win over injury-hit Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in their round-robin clash.
Australian Alex de de Minaur advanced to the semi-finals, where he will face Jannik Sinner.
Italy captured a remarkable third consecutive Davis Cup title on Sunday with Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli winning their singles matches for a 2-0 triumph over Spain.
Six-times champions Spain edged past Germany 2-1 on Saturday to reach their first Davis Cup final since 2019 after their doubles pair of Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez clinched a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz in the decisive match.
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the last four of the ATP Finals with a 6-4, 7-6(4) round-robin win over two-times winner Alexander Zverev on Friday and Jannik Sinner extended his indoor hardcourt unbeaten run by beating American Ben Shelton.
Defending US Open champion Jannik Sinner continued his stellar run at the hardcourt Grand Slams with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 hammering of Kazakh 23rd seed Alexander Bublik on Monday to make the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows.
Tenth seed Lorenzo Musetti rallied from a set down to beat Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round of the US Open on Tuesday even as Carlos Alcaraz mauled big-serving American Reilly Opelka and veteran Venus Williams made an emotional exit.
The World No 1, who extended his hardcourt winning streak to 26 matches, will play against Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals.
It was then plain sailing for the Tuscan, who read his opponent's serve perfectly to break repeatedly and used his elegant single-handed backhand to perfection to set up a clash with wildcard Valentin Royer or lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan.
Carlos Alcaraz overcame a slow start to beat Lorenzo Musetti 3-6 6-1 6-0 in the Monte Carlo Masters final on Sunday, clinching his first title at the prestigious clay-court event and gaining momentum ahead of next month's French Open.
Carlos Alcaraz continued his French Open title defence with a display of breathtaking brutality for a 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 victory over American 12th seed Tommy Paul.
'We heard it was like the Hollywood of mixed doubles.'
World number one Jannik Sinner produced a sublime semi-final display as he fought back from a set down to beat American Tommy Paul 1-6, 6-0, 6-3 on Friday to set up an Italian Open final showdown with Carlos Alcaraz.
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner stayed cool to reach the second round of Wimbledon while several of his fellow seeds including Italian compatriot Lorenzo Musetti crashed and burned on a sizzling Tuesday.
World number two Gauff clawed her way back from a set down to defeat Russian Veronika Kudermetova 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in a match that stretched over two and a half hours.
Iga Swiatek survived a surprise U.S. Open second-round test on Thursday as men's top seed Jannik Sinner and Japan's four-times major winner Naomi Osaka cruised through.