LONDON (AP) — Novak Djokovic was pushed to play more than five hours by Felix Auger-Aliassime before the seven-time Wimbledon champion prevailed 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) on Tuesday to set up a semifinal against defending champion Jannik Sinner.
It was the longest quarterfinal in Wimbledon history, the tournament said.
“These,” the 39-year-old Djokovic said, “are the kind of moments that I still play tennis for.”
When a forehand from Auger-Aliassime sailed wide after a long rally to give Djokovic a 9-4 lead in the final-set tiebreaker, both players leaned on their rackets in exhaustion. Djokovic, while he was leaning over, still found energy to encourage the crowd to cheer louder, waving his racket for more noise.
Then on his first match point, a big forehand from Djokovic led to another error from his 25-year-old Canadian opponent to end it after 5 hours, 15 minutes — and just before the All England Club’s 11 p.m. curfew took effect.
“We know, because we’ve seen him so much, but it’s so impressive that he does it time and time again,” Auger-Aliassime said.
To celebrate, Djokovic raised his arms high and wide and took in the applause as he walked to the net to shake hands with Auger-Aliassime. Then Djokovic performed a little elbows-to-knees dance. He often mentions that his daughter, who was watching in the players’ box, tries to teach him moves.
Djokovic continues to break records as he chases a 25th Grand Slam title. He’s reached a record-setting eighth consecutive Wimbledon final four — moving him one ahead of Roger Federer for most consecutive men’s singles semifinal appearances at the grass-court tournament.
Sinner spent less than half the amount of time on court as Djokovic did when he beat Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-3 much earlier in the day on No. 1 Court.
Sinner beat Djokovic in straight sets in last year’s Wimbledon semifinals; and Djokovic outlasted the Italian over five sets in the last four of this year’s Australian Open.
“I wish it was finals, so I don’t need to worry about how the body will feel tomorrow,” Djokovic said. “I was telling the kids to go to sleep after the fourth (set) but they didn’t want to listen. I’m glad they stayed because it was honestly one of the best matches I was part of on this court in my career.”
Medical time out
In the first set, Djokovic dealt with what appeared to be a lower-leg issue. He grimaced during the ninth game, which he held to love for a 5-4 lead. Then he was treated by a trainer on the ensuing changeover and took a medical time out. The trainer tested the stability of his left ankle and calf before massaging Djokovic’s calf muscle.
Djokovic had earlier leaned over to stretch his leg by pulling back the tip of his sneaker. He also stretched while standing at the back wall.
There was more stretching the rest of the way, too — especially late in the fifth set.
“It was really anybody’s game in the super tiebreak in the fifth,” Djokovic said.
Djokovic opposes roof closure
Djokovic objected to the decision to close the Centre Court roof at 7:40 p.m. after Auger-Aliassime won the second set to even the match at a set apiece.
Djokovic told Wimbledon tournament referee Denise Parnell that they could squeeze in another set before the natural light fades.
“We can play a whole another set outdoors. We’re an outdoor tournament,” Djokovic said. “You remember the first round? You didn’t close it until like 8:20, 8:30 and now you want to close it at 7:40. Where’s the consistency?
“You’re so proud of your rules and you’re not sticking to any kind of rules,” Djokovic added.
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