Djokovic wins longest Wimbledon quarterfinal to face Sinner

Novak Djokovic defied age and injury on Tuesday to outlast Felix Auger-Aliassime in the longest quarterfinal in Wimbledon history, a five-hour-and-15-minute marathon that ended 7-6 (12-10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (10-4) and set up a semifinal against defending champion Jannik Sinner on Friday.sports.inquirer+2

A Test of Endurance

The 39-year-old seven-time Wimbledon champion was forced to take a medical timeout in the first set after tweaking his left calf during an innocuous slide to a backhand. His movement appeared compromised, but Djokovic found a way to grind through the pain against the 25-year-old third seed, who pushed the match to its limits across nearly five and a half hours on Centre Court.wimbledon+2

The first-set tiebreak alone was a test of nerves, with Djokovic prevailing 12-10. After splitting the next two sets, Auger-Aliassime forced a decider by taking the fourth-set tiebreak 7-4. But in the fifth-set super tiebreak, Djokovic pulled away decisively, winning 10-4 to seal his passage to the last four.bbc+1

The match concluded just six minutes before the 11 p.m. curfew at the All England Club, according to The Athletic.nytimes

Sinner Awaits

Djokovic's reward is a Friday semifinal against Sinner, the world No. 1 who cruised past Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-3 earlier on Tuesday. Sinner beat Djokovic in straight sets in last year's Wimbledon semifinals on his way to claiming the title for the first time.espn+2

The victory marked Djokovic's 15th Wimbledon semifinal and his eighth in a row, extending records that already belonged to him. Both players will have two days to recover before their Friday clash, with Djokovic in particular needing rest after his physical ordeal.cbssports

An Instant Classic

The BBC described Djokovic's effort as "astonishing," while a separate BBC analysis headlined him as "not normal" for his ability to overcome physical adversity at his age. Auger-Aliassime, for his part, played the longest match of his career in defeat and left Centre Court to warm applause after an exhausting effort that saw both players trade blows deep into the London evening.sports.yahoo+2