LONDON : Novak Djokovic survived the longest Wimbledon quarter-final in history on Tuesday, outlasting Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(10) 3-6 6-3 6-7(4) 7-6(10-4) in a five-hour, 15-minute Centre Court epic to book a semi-final meeting with defending champion Jannik Sinner.
The 39-year-old Serbian kept alive his bid for a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title and an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles crown, which would move him clear at the top of the all-time list of major champions.
Despite concerns over whether age has diminished his powers, seventh seed Djokovic produced another trademark display of resilience in a contest that stretched to the brink of Wimbledon’s 11 p.m. curfew.
“It’s exciting to be part of such an epic match that was played over five hours,” Djokovic told reporters.
“It was one of the best matches I was part of at Wimbledon. I don’t recall playing this long. Maybe the Roger Federer final in 2019 comes close in terms of the time and length.
“It was really super even. Anyone’s game. Felix played on a high level. He dropped his level a little bit in that super tiebreak. I used all my opportunities and hung in there, played the right shots. That was enough.
“The crowd was up on their feet, particularly the last 30 minutes. They also recognised how special the moment was with us battling the curfew a few minutes before 11 p.m.”
Top seed Sinner earlier advanced with a 7-5 7-6(4) 6-3 victory over Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff to set up a blockbuster semi-final against Djokovic.
American Coco Gauff also reached new territory, advancing to her first Wimbledon semi-final with a 4-6 6-3 6-3 victory over fourth seed Jessica Pegula on Centre Court.
The seventh seed had never progressed beyond the fourth round at the All England Club since bursting onto the scene as a 15-year-old in 2019, but recovered from losing the opening set to secure a landmark win over her fellow American.
Germany’s Alexander Zverev also achieved a career first at Wimbledon, completing a 6-4 7-5 3-6 7-6(6) victory over Czech Jiri Lehecka after their fourth-round match resumed following Monday’s curfew suspension.
Zverev had been three games from victory before play was halted overnight and, despite Lehecka mounting a fightback on Tuesday, the second seed sealed his place in the quarter-finals.
The French Open champion will next face sixth seed Taylor Fritz in a contest featuring two of the biggest servers on tour.
Naomi Osaka’s impressive Wimbledon run ended in the quarter-finals as the Japanese 14th seed lost 7-6(4) 6-4 to Czech Karolina Muchova.
Osaka had arrived full of confidence after upsetting world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the previous round, but Muchova produced a composed display to halt the four-time Grand Slam champion’s bid for a fifth major title.
