WIMBLEDON/WASHINGTON, July 8, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
Novak Djokovic has been nothing if not at his best when it comes to producing huge, milestone moments on the grandest stage in tennis, at the Wimbledon Championships.
On Tuesday evening, the 39-year-old seven-time Wimbledon singles champion set a record for the longest men’s quarterfinal match in tournament history after he and Felix Auger-Aliassime battled through five sets over the span of five hours and 15 minutes, won by the Serbian great, 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (10-4). By the conclusion of the last eight tussle, at 10:54 p.m. London time, the 14,979 fans who filled Centre Court gave both players a standing ovation.
With Djokovic’s victory, the 1,177th of his career – including a record 107th at Wimbledon – he advanced to his record-extending 15th Wimbledon semifinal and 55th Grand Slam semifinal overall. He’s also secured his place in the last four for the eight-consecutive time at the grass-court major, setting a new all-time record for the longest streak of men’s singles semifinal appearances at Wimbledon.
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In addition, Djokovic became just the second man in the Open Era (since 1968) aged 39 or older to reach the Wimbledon semifinals, joining Hall of Fame great Ken Rosewall, who achieved the feat in 1974.
During his on-court interview, the seventh-seeded Djokovic was asked how he managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against the highly-regarded No. 3 seed from Canada.
“With a racquet and a lot of heart and management of the nerves and the extreme tension you feel in these kinds of matches,” Djokovic said, after securing a fifth-set match tie-break from Auger-Aliassime 10-4, just six minutes before the 11 p.m. Wimbledon curfew. “Towards the end it was anyone’s game. The scoreline was even all the way through. I think it was anyone’s game in the super tie-break in the fifth. These are the kind of moments that I still play tennis for.”
Djokovic and Auger-Aliassime, 14 years his junior at age 25, battled through 374 points. By the conclusion of the quarterfinal, just four points separated the two – 189 points for Djokovic, 185 points for Auger-Aliassime. Djokovic struck 43 winners – including 14 aces – and made 47 unforced errors, compared to 74 winners (including 29 aces) and 61 unforced errors by Auger-Aliassime. Djokovic won 73 percent (94 of 128) of his first serve points, while Auger-Aliassime won 80 percent (105 of 132) of his first-serve points. Djokovic converted just two of 13 break points, while Auger-Aliassime broke his opponent twice in four tries.
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During the match, the momentum swung back and forth between him and the World No. 4 Auger-Aliassime. However, Djokovic recovered nicely from an Achilles problem in his left leg that required a medical time out at 5-4 in the first set. He saved some of his best tennis for final set when it mattered most.
“Just one of the best matches I was honestly part of in Wimbledon,” Djokovic said during his post-match news conference. “I don’t recall playing this long any match. Maybe [the] Roger [Federer] final 2019 comes close in terms of the time and length.
“But it was really, really super even. Anyone’s game. Honestly, also Felix really 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.”
Djokovic added: “The crowd was up on their feet, particularly the last 30 minutes of the match. They also recognized how special the moment is of us battling the curfew, as well, a few minutes earlier than 11.
“Yeah, just very proud to come out as a winner.”
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Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime looked for positives after very tough and difficult loss. In his post-match news conference, he framed it this way:
“Amazing fight, amazing battle with a legend of our sport. It is what it is. Obviously, it’s tough for me. Quarters in Paris. Here. I had other chances in my career where tight matches like this didn’t go my way.
“I’ll have to see what I can do so it goes my way the next time. For now, I can be proud of the fight and then I move on, move on to what’s next.”
Looking ahead, the World No. 8 Djokovic finds himself just two wins shy of his first Wimbledon title since 2023, which would also be a record-extending 25th major crown. On Friday, he will meet World No. 1 and top seed Jannik Sinner of Italy, who has come on strong in his title defense and not dropped a set since surviving a five-set scare from No. 50 Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia in the first round. Earlier Tuesday, Sinner won his quarterfinal-round match against No. 74 Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany, 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-3, in two hours and 35 minutes on No. 1 Court.
When Djokovic was asked what to expect from Sinner, whom he lost to in the Wimbledon semifinals last year, he said: “Let’s see. We’ll see. Future will tell. …
“I don’t know what tomorrow brings. To be honest, let’s see. I’m still in the tournament. I still want to go at least one more step further. But this was as good as a final for me. I gave it all that I had, gave it my best. I think it was really thrilling experience for us players, but also crowd present in the stadium, I’m sure also a lot of people watching on TV. Glad to be part of another historic match.”
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