Last night, 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic made it to a 13th Melbourne Park semifinal.
Day 10 of the AO brought in a Total TV National Average Audience of 1,240,000 for Nine.
After his fourth-round opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew due to injury, Italian player Lorenzo Musetti was forced to retire with a leg injury when he was leading Djokovic by two sets to love at Rod Laver Arena.
For the best part of the two hours and eight minutes they spent on court, Musetti held steady, with a 6-4 6-3 lead before stopping the match with Djokovic ahead 3-1 in the third when the pain in his right groin became too much.
“I felt it at the beginning of the second set,” Musetti said.
“I honestly have no words to describe how I’m feeling right now and how tough it is for me [to have] this injury in this moment”.
The drama took the attention away from another impressive milestone for Djokovic who now has a record 103 AO victories, one more than Roger Federer.
“I don’t know what to say, except that I feel really sorry for him and he was a far better player. I was on my way home tonight,” Djokovic said.
In the women’s draw on Day 11, both higher-ranked players in quarterfinal action crashed out. Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina outplayed second seed Iga Swiatek 7-5 6-1 to crush the Pole’s hopes of a first Australian Open title.
And Jessica Pegula moved into her first AO semifinal and third overall at Grand Slam level when the 31-year-old came back from 5-3 down in the second set to edge past fellow American and fourth seed Amanda Anisimova 6-2 7-6(1).
Fifth seed Rybakina, who reached the final at Melbourne Park in 2023, said she’s feeling more comfortable in the later rounds at the majors.
Similarly, Pegula told the media after her quarterfinal win that her experience and improved emotional control are helping her chances of locking into the Grand Slam draws.
And the mixed doubles final is set, with Aussie wildcards John Peers and Olivia Gadecki to battle for the title against French team Manuel Guinard and Kristina Mladenovic on Friday.
Over on Seven, Home and Away continued to do the numbers, bringing in a National Average Audience of 952,000.
ABC’s 7.30 raked in a National Average Audience of 702,000, while Channel 10’s I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! continued to do the numbers, slotting into 10th position with a National Average Audience of 716,000.
