Australian Open 2026 Day 11 Recap

Day eleven of the 2026 Australian Open maintained the two-week trend of delivering little drama, with both quarter finals ending in just over two hours of play.

Jannik Sinner continued his dominant title defence with a clinical straight-sets win over Ben Shelton, once again exposing the gap in consistency and return quality between the two.

In the other quarterfinal, Novak Djokovic advanced to his 13th Australian Open semifinal without winning a set, as Lorenzo Musetti retired while leading by two sets and firmly in control.

With the semifinals now set, the tournament moves forward, with the top four seeds all present in the last four: Sinner takes on Djokovic, and Alcaraz faces Zverev on Friday.

Australian Open 2026 Day 11 Results

Winnner	Loser	Scoreline
Novak Djokovic (4)	Lorenzo Musetti (5)	4-6 3-6 3-1 (RET)
Jannik Sinner (2)	Ben Shelton (8)	6-3 6-4 6-4

Daily Recap

Novak Djokovic (4) def. Lorenzo Musetti (5) 4-6 3-6 3-1 (RET)

Novak Djokovic advanced to his 13th Australian Open semifinal, and he’s emerged victorious in both his last two matches without winning a set.

After Mensik withdrew prior to his fourth round on Monday, Lorenzo Musetti was forced to retire while leading 6-4, 6-3, 1-3 in their quarter-final on Rod Laver Arena.

The Italian No. 5 seed had produced one of the standout performances of the tournament up to that point, controlling the match with exceptional variety, baseline precision, and aggressive play that repeatedly disrupted Djokovic’s rhythm.

Musetti overturned an early 0-2 deficit in the opening set, broke Djokovic’s serve five times across the first two sets, and appeared firmly in command before an upper right leg injury struck in the third game of the third set.

Despite receiving treatment from the physio at 1-2 in the third, Musetti could not continue and retired after two hours and eight minutes.

It was a crappy end as Musetti was well on the way to the last four, but his retirement record is not a good one, as he’s had 10 losses by way of mid-match retirement. Soft.

I don’t know what to say except I feel really sorry for him and he was a far better player. I was on my way home tonight. These kinds of things happen in sport. It happened to me a few times, but being in the quarters of a Grand Slam, two sets to love up, and being in full control, it’s so unfortunate. I don’t know what else I can say and I really wish him a speedy recovery. He should have been a winner today, no doubt. Djokovic on his lucky win.

Match Stats

Key Stats	Lorenzo Musetti	Novak Djokovic
Winners	29	26
Unforced Errors	23	32
Aces	4	4
Double Faults	3	1
1st Serve %	61% (39/64)	64% (54/85)
1st Serve Points Won	64% (25/39)	61% (33/54)
2nd Serve Points Won	48% (12/25)	39% (12/31)
Break Points Saved	57% (4/7)	55% (6/11)
1st Return Points Won	39% (21/54)	36% (14/39)
2nd Return Points Won	61% (19/31)	52% (13/25)
Break Points Won	45% (5/11)	43% (3/7)
Return Games	42% (5/12)	27% (3/11)
Pressure Points	50% (9/18)	50% (9/18)
Service Points	58% (37/64)	53% (45/85)
Return Points	47% (40/85)	42% (27/64)
Net Points	60% (6/10)	63% (20/32)
Total Points	52% (77/149)	48% (72/149)
Match Points Saved	0	0
Max Points In A Row	11	6
Total Games	57% (13/23)	43% (10/23)
Max Games In A Row	4	3

Highlights

Press Conference

Jannik Sinner (2) def. Ben Shelton (8) 6-3 6-4 6-4

Jannik Sinner continued his relentless pursuit of a third consecutive Australian Open title, producing another dominant and composed performance to defeat Ben Shelton in straight sets and reach his ninth Grand Slam semifinal.

I couldn’t see anything other than a Sinner demolition job, and the two-time defending champion brushed aside the eighth-seeded American 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 23 minutes.

Sinner never allowed Shelton to find a consistent rhythm, exposed his frailties, especially on the backhand, but he also rushed his forehand.

Shelton created three break points in the second set but squandered them all and leaked 17 unforced errors, allowing Sinner to pull further ahead and in the third set’s ninth game, when Shelton double-faulted at 15/40 to hand Sinner the break.

Shelton has a ton of power, moves well, and he’s got a good mindset when facing break points, but in the bread-and-butter rallies, he’s not going to trouble Sinner; he won’t win enough return points, which is why he has won just 2 sets in their 10 meetings.

It is very tough to play against Ben. He has a huge, huge serve and I feel like he is improving so much, year after year. Especially after the offseason, you don’t know how certain players are going to play against you and change lots of things. I am very happy with today’s performance. Sinner on his win.