'The moments I still play tennis for' - extraordinary Djokovic wins five-set epic
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Novak Djokovic beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (12-10) 3-6 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (10-4) over 5 hours and 15 minutes to reach a record-extending 14th Wimbledon men's semi-final
- Djokovic pulled up with a lower left leg injury at 4-4 in the first set and grimaced through a massage before resuming, then started moving freely again after losing two set points at 5-4 on Auger-Aliassime's serve
- Djokovic, 39, remains tied with Margaret Court at 24 Grand Slam singles titles and is now two wins from sole ownership of the all-time record he has shared since the 2023 US Open
- Jannik Sinner awaits in the semi-final after a 7-5 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win over Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff, landing 16 aces, winning 84% of his first-serve points and conceding just two break points
- Sinner dismissed Djokovic in straight sets in last year's Wimbledon semi-final, a defeat that left the seven-time champion lamenting his age, but Djokovic reversed the result in January's Australian Open semi-finals
- Alexander Zverev returned to complete his suspended fourth-round match against Jiri Lehecka after the 23:00 BST Wimbledon curfew, winning 6-4 7-5 3-6 7-6 (8-6) for his first Wimbledon quarter-final against Taylor Fritz
- An exhausted Djokovic told the Centre Court crowd after the match: 'These are the kind of moments I still play tennis for,' before performing a dance routine in tribute to his daughter
Why it matters: Djokovic sits two wins from breaking Margaret Court's all-time Grand Slam record, a bid that appeared doomed when he grabbed his left leg at 4-4 in the opener. The 39-year-old's reward is Sinner, the world No. 1 and defending champion who dismantled him in straight sets on the same court 12 months ago and has dropped only one set across five matches this fortnight.
