![\"Boris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/boris-becker-believes-novak-djokovic-will-have-felt-embarrassed-after-advancing-to-the-australian-op.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nBoris Becker believes Novak Djokovic will have felt “embarrassed” after advancing to the Australian Open semi-finals following Lorenzo Musetti’s withdrawal through injury on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The Italian was comfortably ahead at 6-4, 6-3, 3-1 when a leg problem forced him to abandon the quarter-final contest in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
Djokovic himself conceded that Musetti had been “the far better player” and acknowledged he would likely have suffered defeat had his opponent’s body not given way.<\/p>\n
“I know him quite well, it’s embarrassing for him because that’s not how he wants to win,” Becker told Eurosport.<\/p>\n
The 38-year-old Serb will now meet defending champion Jannik Sinner in the last four as he pursues an 11th Melbourne title.<\/p>\n
Becker offered his assessment of why Musetti had dominated proceedings before his untimely exit.<\/p>\n
“That’s disappointing for Musetti, he played such a great tournament, he was clearly the better player,” the six-time Grand Slam winner said.<\/p>\n
Boris Becker believes Novak Djokovic will have felt “embarrassed” after advancing to the Australian Open semi-finals following Lorenzo Musetti’s withdrawal through injury on Wednesday<\/p>\n
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PA<\/p>\n
The German explained that Musetti’s playing style demands significant physical exertion, with fewer easy points on serve and numerous extended rallies taking their toll.<\/p>\n
He noted that Carlos Alcaraz had encountered similar difficulties earlier in the tournament, suggesting Musetti requires further physical development.<\/p>\n
Becker also pointed to Djokovic’s four-day gap between matches as potentially excessive mid-tournament, combined with minimal competitive action since last year and no events this season.<\/p>\n
![\"Tennis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769734570_863_tennis-facts.jpg\")
Musetti, by contrast, had arrived in Melbourne fresh from competing in Hong Kong and performing at peak level.<\/p>\n
Becker praised Djokovic for his honest admission that fortune had favoured him against the Italian.<\/p>\n
“It’s a fair gesture for him (Djokovic) to say that [Musetti was the better player]. He’s always perceived as being dogged. But Novak is a true sportsman and saw that he was lucky and he made that very clear,” the former world No 1 said.<\/p>\n
The German highlighted that Djokovic’s progression to another semi-final demonstrates his remarkable staying power at the highest level.<\/p>\n
“Novak still has consistency. The fact that he’s back in the semi-finals speaks for itself. He’s a sportsman, he doesn’t want to reach the semi-finals by [his opponent] retiring and he didn’t have to play in the previous round either,” Becker added.<\/p>\n
Becker worked alongside Djokovic from late 2013 through to the conclusion of 2016, a period during which the pair secured six major championships and 14 Masters 1000 trophies together.<\/p>\n
![\"Jannik](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/jannik-sinner.jpg\")
Their successful partnership gives the German unique insight into the Serbian’s competitive mentality and approach to victory.<\/p>\n
Djokovic, now 38, continues his pursuit of history at Melbourne Park, where he has already lifted the trophy on ten occasions.<\/p>\n
A triumph this fortnight would deliver his 25th Grand Slam title overall, further extending his record haul in men’s tennis.<\/p>\n
Standing between him and another final appearance is Sinner, the two-time reigning Australian Open champion who has established himself as the dominant force in Melbourne.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Boris Becker believes Novak Djokovic will have felt “embarrassed” after advancing to the Australian Open semi-finals following Lorenzo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397810,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[50,2331,217,101,118,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-397809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-news","tag-sgg","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/397810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}