Novak Djokovic advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals after a grueling five-set victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime that lasted over five hours and 15 minutes. The Serbian secured the win with a scoreline of 7-6 (12-10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (7-4), 7-6 (10-4), becoming the oldest male player in more than 50 years to reach the tournament's final four.
Roof Controversy
The match was interrupted late in the second set when tournament supervisor Denise Parnell decided to close the Centre Court roof due to evening conditions. Djokovic expressed frustration, questioning the timing of the decision, which occurred at 7:40 p.m. local time, well before the expected onset of darkness. He argued that the roof had remained open later in previous matches, citing a lack of consistency in rule application.
"The other day you didn’t want to close it until 8.30pm. Now you want to close it," Djokovic stated. "You don’t want to get to 8.30pm? It’s 7.40pm now. We can play a whole another set outdoors. We’re an outdoor tournament."
Djokovic also referenced a previous match involving Jannik Sinner, where the roof was reportedly closed early. "With Jannik, I don’t care what happens in his matches. I’m talking about our match right now," he retorted. "You remember the first round, you didn’t close it until like 8.20pm. Now you want to close it at 7.40pm. Where’s the consistency? You’re so proud of your rules and you’re not sticking to any kind of rules. You have no idea what the rule is."
Auger-Aliassime also appeared to question the roof closure. Despite the interruption, Djokovic regrouped to win the third set, though Auger-Aliassime forced a deciding fifth set by taking the fourth.
Semifinal Showdown and Records
Djokovic will face defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinals. The Serbian is bidding for a record 25th Grand Slam title and his eighth Wimbledon crown. Djokovic holds an 11-5 head-to-head record against Sinner, with two of those wins coming at Wimbledon in 2022 and 2023. He lost to Sinner in the 2025 semifinals before avenging that defeat at the Australian Open earlier this year.
This victory marks Djokovic's 15th Wimbledon semifinal appearance, extending his own record. It is also his eighth consecutive appearance in the Wimbledon last four, surpassing Roger Federer's streak. At 39 years old, Djokovic is the second player in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon semifinals at that age or older, following Ken Rosewall in 1974.
In the women's tournament, Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova also secured their first Wimbledon semifinals berths.