Djokovic outlasts Auger-Aliassime after more than 5 hours to reach Wimbledon semifinals at age 39
Side to side. Corner to corner. Novak Djokovic kept pushing Felix Auger-Aliassime back and forth along the Centre Court baseline at Wimbledon to retrieve one shot after another.
Finally, on the 22nd shot of a grueling rally deep in a fifth-set super tiebreaker, Auger-Aliassime had a forehand in the middle of the court. Under normal circumstances, it might have been just the shot he was looking for.
Not this time. Not after five hours of battling with the 39-year-old Djokovic.
Auger-Aliassime, a 25-year-old Canadian with one of the top-rated forehands on tour, had nothing left in his tank. He sprayed his forehand wide to give Djokovic a 9-4 lead. Then both players bent over in exhaustion and leaned on their rackets. Djokovic, while he was bent over, still found energy to encourage the crowd to cheer louder, waving his right arm for more noise.
One point later, the longest quarterfinal in Wimbledon history — at 5 hours and 15 minutes — was finished. These, Djokovic said, “are the kind of moments that I still play tennis for.” Djokovic, 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.
“I’m still able to battle these young guys that have 15 years less than me,” Djokovic said. “I’m able to beat them at the tightest possible scoreline. ... In a sense, it is really a nice surprise. But at the same time, I always have the highest expectations for myself.”
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.
“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. The match ended just before the All England Club’s 11 pm curfew took effect.
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.
Later, Djokovic was asked to compare himself with another 39-year-old still performing at the highest of levels: Lionel Messi of Argentina.
“It would be nice to play 90 minutes like him,” Djokovic said of the soccer great.
Rematch with Sinner. 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.”
Djokovic does get two days off before Friday’s semifinals.
Medical time out. Late in the first set, Djokovic dealt with what appeared to be a lower-leg issue. He took a medical time out and a trainer tested the stability of his left ankle and calf before massaging his 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 level at a set apiece.
Djokovic told Wimbledon tournament referee Denise Parnell that they could squeeze in another set before the natural light faded.
