E-Paper
Sign In
Djokovic keeps the Major dream alive after five-hour marathon
The indefatigable 39-year-old, who is chasing his record-extending 25th Grand Slam title, will meet world number one Jannik Sinner on Friday for a place in the final
- PUBLISHED: Wed 8 Jul 2026, 1:57 PM
- By:
- AFP
Novak Djokovic battled through Wimbledon's longest ever quarterfinal to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in a five-set epic on Tuesday as the former champion set up a titanic clash with defending champion Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic defied a calf injury suffered in the first set to win 7-6 (12/10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (10/4) in a Centre Court classic lasting five hours and 15 minutes.
Recommended For You
The indefatigable 39-year-old, who is chasing his record-extending 25th Grand Slam title, will meet world number one Sinner on Friday for a place in the final.
While Sinner beat German veteran Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets on Tuesday, Djokovic had to dig much deeper before he subdued Canadian third seed Auger-Aliassime in one of the all-time gutsy Wimbledon performances.
The question now is whether the Serb will have anything left in the tank to beat Sinner.
Asked how he saw off Auger-Aliassime, Djokovic said: "With racquet and a lot of heart. I have management of the nerves and the extreme tension you feel in these kind of matches.
"Towards the end, it was really anyone's game. What can I say, these are the kind of moments that I still play tennis for, for sure."
Djokovic has advanced to a record-extending 15th Wimbledon semifinal and 55th at the Grand Slams.
He is into the Wimbledon last four for an eighth consecutive time, setting a new record ahead of Roger Federer for the longest streak of men's singles semi-final appearances at the All England Club.
Djokovic is only the second player in the Open era to reach the men's semifinals at Wimbledon aged 39 or older after Ken Rosewall in 1974.
"It's just another semi-final for me. I'm going to look at the numbers and everything when I finish my career," he said.
"Right now, it's all business. I still have to recover. I'm still in the tournament, and I have the best player in the world in a few days."
Djokovic, the seventh seed, chuckled after several missed chances in a long opening-set tiebreak, and had the last laugh when Auger-Aliassime blasted a volley long to surrender a set that he should have comfortably won.
A double fault from Djokovic gifted Auger-Aliassime a break to go up 5-3 in the next set and the Canadian held his nerve and serve in the next game to draw level in the contest, before the Centre Court roof was closed at around 7.40 p.m. local time.
The move prompted complaints from Djokovic, but he composed himself as the third set got underway and produced cleaner ball-striking to finally break Auger-Aliassime in the sixth game and then tighten his grip on the match.
Auger-Aliassime lost his opening service game in the fourth set and let his frustrations boil over when he whacked his chair with his racket, but put up a brave display and got back on level terms via the tiebreak to force a decider.
There was no separating the pair for 12 games of the final set until Djokovic drew on his experience in the match tiebreak to finally overcome Auger-Aliassime and soak up the deafening applause from a thoroughly-entertained crowd.
"You know, I was telling my kids to go to sleep after the fourth set but they didn't want to listen," Djokovic added.
"I'm glad they stayed up, because it was, honestly, one of the best matches I was part of on this court, in my career."
Sinner wasn't at his best against Struff, but his booming serve kept the world number 74 at bay as he reached his 10th Grand Slam semifinal and third at Wimbledon.
"It was a huge test today. I felt comfortable on the physical side, a good step forwards," the Italian said.
In his 47th Grand Slam appearance, Struff had become the oldest man in the professional era to reach his first major quarterfinal, at the age of 36.
Any hopes the world number 74 might have harboured of extending that run were snuffed out in brutal fashion by the Italian top seed.
Struff had served 100 thunderbolt aces to reach the quarterfinals and fired down 12 more missiles on Tuesday but all that firepower did little to throw Sinner off his stride.
"He is a very, very tough player to play against but he deserves everything he's done and achieved in his career," Sinner told the crowd after extending his record over Struff to 4-0.
"In the beginning, he started better than me, I was struggling a little bit. I tried to stay there mentally.
"The second set could have ended in a different way, tiebreaks are always 50-50. He's a very tough player to play against. I'm happy to be back in the semi-finals here," he added ahead of Friday's blockbuster against seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic.