Novak Djokovic prevailed over Felix Auger-Aliassime in the longest quarter-final in Wimbledon history as the Serbian legend triumphed 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 in five hours and 15 minutes.
It was also the longest match Djokovic has ever played at Wimbledon and he booked a blockbuster semi-final meeting with world No.1 Jannik Sinner by outlasting Auger-Aliassime.
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Djokovic’s claimed victory just six minutes before Wimbledon’s 11pm curfew as he took the match tiebreak 10-4 over the Canadian third seed.
“One of the best matches I was part of on this court,” Djokovic said.
The 39-year-old is the oldest player in more than 50 years to make it to the final four at the All-England Club after a marathon performance that once again highlighted his freakish ability to defy Father Time.
He is now two wins away from a historic 25th grand slam title.
The match was described by The Telegraph’s Tom Cary as “5hr15mins of absolute madness,” while the official Wimbledon account simply posted one word.
“Speechless”.
Asked in his on court interview how he managed to pull off that remarkable performance, Djokovic replied: “With racquet and a lot of heart.”
“It was really anybody’s game in the super tiebreak in the fifth,” he added.
“What can I say? These are the kind of moments I still play tennis for
“I wish it was finals so I don’t need to worry about how the body will feel tomorrow
“But yeah, I am happy that I won.”
Novak not happy after Wimbledon call | 00:41
Djokovic saved three set points in a thrilling first set tiebreak, which he claimed 12-10.
But he dropped the second set 6-3 and then his fury arose.
The call was made to close the roof on Centre Court at the end of the second set and Djokovic let his feelings known to Wimbledon official Denise Parnell courtside.
“The other day you didn’t want to close it until 8:30, now you want to close it?” he said.
“You don’t want to get to 8:30? It’s 7:40 now. We can play another set outdoors. We’re an outdoor tournament.”
Parnell appeared to reference an early match involving Sinner as precedent for the roof closure.
“With Jannik, I don’t care what happens in his matches. I’m talking about our match right now,” Djokovic replied.
“You remember the first round, you didn’t close it until like 8:20. Now you want to close it at 7:40. Where’s the consistency?”
He then added: “You’re so proud of your rules and you’re not sticking to any kind of rules. You have no idea what the rule is.”
Djokovic bounced back to win the third set 6-3 before Auger-Aliassime claimed the fourth in a tiebreak and make officials nervous that the contest may have to be halted by the curfew.
Both players refused to give an inch in the fifth set until Auger-Aliassime blinked first in the tiebreak.
The 25-year-old became the first player ever to take Djokovic to five sets at Wimbledon and to also go the distance against Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros.
Unfortunately, for the Canadian, he was not able to defeat either legend in the two encounters.
“Novak Djokovic just keeps adding to the legend. This is another one of those. He has so many numbers, stats and tournament wins,” Australian tennis legend Todd Woodbridge said on the BBC.
“For Felix Auger-Aliassime’s first time out here, it will be one that he will remember because it will become an important part of another piece of Wimbledon history.”
Awaiting in an eighth straight Wimbledon semi-final for Djokovic is Sinner after the defending champion ended German veteran Jan-Lennard Struff’s fairytale run in the quarter-finals – Sinner won 7-5, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 on Court One.
The pair will meet in a mouthwatering rematch after Djokovic defeated Sinner in a marathon semi-final at Melbourne Park in January.
“If it’s Novak, I feel like every match is different. Even when I had this small streak with him, I felt like every match has really its own story,” Sinner said.
“Especially when you play on a surface like this. If you have a bad serving day or not feeling the ball very well, it’s gonna be very very tough. In any case I’m happy to be back in the semis. I’m happy to fight for every ball. Then we see. More, I cannot do.
“He’s won this tournament so many times and he knows exactly how to approach it. I’m looking forward to it.”
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Sinner advances to semi in straight sets | 01:48
In the women’s tournament, Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova reached their first Wimbledon semi-finals.
With Wimbledon basking in sweltering temperatures this week, world number one Sinner had to answer some uncomfortable questions about his ability to withstand the heat.
The 24-year-old Italian wilted in the recent French Open when the mercury reached boiling point, sparking a stunning second-round defeat against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who battled back from two sets and 5-1 down to beat Sinner.
Bidding to win Wimbledon for the second successive year, Sinner lived up to his claim that he would cope with the London heatwave against Struff — at 36 the oldest man to become a first-time quarter-finalist at the majors in the Open era.
The four-time Grand Slam champion wasn’t at his best, but his booming serve kept world number 74 Struff at bay as he reached his 10th Grand Slam semi-final and third at Wimbledon.
“It was a huge test today. I felt comfortable on the physical side, a good step forwards,” Sinner said.
“We worked a lot after Paris trying to understand what went wrong and prepared in the best possible way.”
Djokovic hopes to equal Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon singles titles by winning a record 25th major.
That would make him the oldest man to win a Grand Slam in the Open era. Victory for the 39-year-old Serb against third seeded Auger-Aliassime took Djokovic into a record-extending 15th Wimbledon semi-final and 55th at the Grand Slams.
He would also reach the Wimbledon last four for an eighth consecutive time, setting a new record for the longest streak of men’s singles semi-final appearances at the All England Club.
– Gauff in uncharted territory –
The all-American encounter on Centre Court went Gauff’s way as the seventh seed beat fellow American Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Gauff — a two-time major champion — was appearing in the last eight at the All England Club for the first time.
The 22-year-old made a sluggish start as fourth seeded Pegula, 32, took the first set.
But Gauff hit back emphatically, seizing the momentum in the second set before sealing victory in the third.
Seven years after she became the youngest player to reach the Wimbledon main draw aged 15 and then stunned Venus Williams on her debut, Gauff is two wins away from an even more impressive feat at the All England Club.
She is into the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time since winning her most recent major at the French Open last year.
She is the youngest player to appear in all four Grand Slam semi-finals since Maria Sharapova in 2007.
“Considering I hadn’t won a match in two years on grass before this tournament, I’m really happy with how I played today,” Gauff said.
In the last four, Gauff faces Czech 10th seed Muchova, who beat Japanese star Naomi Osaka 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.
Muchova had never been past the first round in her four previous visits to Wimbledon, but she won the grass-court tournament at Bad Homburg in June.
“Oh my god, I was very nervous! I know you can’t lose focus because if you give her a little chance, she takes it,” Muchova said.
The 29-year-old lost her only Grand Slam final appearance against Iga Swiatek at the 2023 French Open.
French Open champion Alexander Zverev finished off his delayed last-16 tie against Jiri Lehecka, winning 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (8/6) to book a quarter-final clash with American sixth seed Taylor Fritz.
Zverev had been leading by two sets when the match was halted by the 2200 GMT curfew on Monday.