At 39, Novak Djokovic continues to redefine what an athlete can achieve at the highest level of tennis. On Tuesday, he prevailed in the longest Wimbledon quarterfinal in history — 5 hours and 15 minutes — to beat No. 3 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 despite dealing with an injured left calf.
In the process, the Serbian icon reached a record-breaking 15th Wimbledon semifinal and a 55th Grand Slam semifinal overall, setting up a mouth-watering clash against World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in Friday’s semifinal.
After his win, Djokovic sent a strong message when told about his historic feats.
“That’s great, but it’s just another semifinal for me,” Djokovic said when reminded that he was the second-oldest men’s semifinalist at Wimbledon (Ken Rosewall, 1974).
“I’m going to look at all the numbers and everything when I finish my career,” he added. “Right now, it is all business. I still have to recover, I’m still in the tournament and I still have to face the best player in the world in a few days time.”
Novak Djokovic Razor Focused
As his postmatch comments suggested, Djokovic is unwilling to reflect on his historic feats and remains razor-focused on pulling off two more wins to claim his record-breaking 25th major title and tie Roger Federer with an eighth Wimbledon title.
He displayed a lot of courage and heart in his win on Tuesday against a younger and healthier opponent. After jumping to a 5-4 lead in the first set, he needed a medical timeout to address a severe calf injury that bothered him for the rest of the night. Yet, he braved through, kept fighting and ultimately won in the wee hours of the morning.
“I won that match with a racquet and a lot of heart,” he admitted.
“I had to do a lot of nerve management and I had to deal with the extreme tension that you feel in these kind of matches. Towards the end, it was really anybody’s game. I think the scoreline was pretty much even all the way through, that’s a realistic representation of this match today. It was really anybody’s game in that super tie-break.
Novak Djokovic Never Gave Up
Djokovic will have less than 48 hours to prepare for Sinner, a man he lost five consecutive matches against through 2024 and 2025 before breaking the streak at the Australian Open semifinal earlier this year. The Serbian realizes that the odds are stacked against him as he squares off against the defending champion.
Cheekily, he wishes he didn’t have to exert as much energy for a quarterfinal win.
“What can I say? These are the kind of moments I still play tennis for, that’s for sure,” he said with a big smile. “I wish it was the final so I don’t need to worry about how the body will feel tomorrow, but yes I’m happy that I won,”
“It certainly does carry more significance [when I win like that]. 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’ve been a part of on this court in my career.
“Let’s keep this interview short because I have no energy left, my friend.”
Novak Djokovic Sends Strong Message After Wimbledon QF Win