Djokovic reaches Wimbledon last four after marathon win

LONDON: Novak Djokovic earned a place in the Wimbledon semi-finals on Tuesday after coming through a five-set battle with Felix Auger-Aliassime that became the longest quarter-final in the tournament's history.

The 39-year-old former champion beat the Canadian third seed 7-6 (12/10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (10/4) in a Centre Court contest that lasted five hours and 15 minutes. Djokovic had suffered a calf injury in the opening set but still managed to close out the match and move into a high-profile last-four meeting with defending champion and world number one Jannik Sinner on Friday.

The victory sent Djokovic into a record-extending 15th Wimbledon semi-final and his 55th at Grand Slam level. He has now reached the last four at the All England Club for the eighth straight time, a run that puts him ahead of Roger Federer for the longest streak of men's singles semi-final appearances at Wimbledon. He is also only the second player in the Open era to make the men's semi-finals at Wimbledon aged 39 or older, after Ken Rosewall in 1974.

After the match, Djokovic described the effort required to get past Auger-Aliassime. "With racquet and a lot of heart. I have management of the nerves and the extreme tension you feel in these kind of matches."

He also said the closing stages could have gone either way and reflected on the occasion on Centre Court. "Towards the end, it was really anyone's game. What can I say, these are the kind of moments that I still play tennis for, for sure."

Sinner advances in straight sets

While Djokovic needed more than five hours to progress, Sinner booked his place in the semi-finals with a straight-sets win over Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff. The Italian was not at his best, but his strong serve helped him keep the world number 74 under control as he moved into his 10th Grand Slam semi-final and his third at Wimbledon.

Sinner said the match represented an important examination for him physically.

Gauff and Muchova reach first Wimbledon semi-finals

In the women's draw, Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova both made the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time. Gauff came through an all-American quarter-final on Centre Court, defeating Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

The seventh seed, a two-time major champion, was playing in the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time. Seven years after entering the main draw as a 15-year-old and beating Venus Williams on her debut, Gauff is now two victories away from the title. The 22-year-old has reached a Grand Slam semi-final for the first time since winning her latest major at the French Open last year, and she is the youngest player to make the semi-finals at all four Grand Slams since Maria Sharapova in 2007.

Gauff said her progress on grass was especially pleasing given her recent record on the surface.

"Considering I hadn't won a match in two years on grass before this tournament, I'm really happy with how I played today", he stated.

She will next face Czech 10th seed Muchova, who defeated Naomi Osaka 7-6 (7/4), 6-4. Muchova had not gone beyond the first round in any of her previous four Wimbledon appearances, but she arrived in London after winning the grass-court title at Bad Homburg in June.

Muchova admitted she felt the pressure against Osaka. "Oh my god, I was very nervous! I know you can't lose focus because if you give her a little chance, she takes it."

The 29-year-old's only Grand Slam final ended in defeat to Iga Swiatek at the 2023 French Open.

Zverev completes delayed win

Elsewhere, French Open champion Alexander Zverev completed his postponed last-16 match against Jiri Lehecka, winning 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (8/6). Zverev had been two sets ahead when play was stopped by the 2200 GMT curfew on Monday, and his victory set up a quarter-final against American sixth seed Taylor Fritz.