History unfolded at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
Novak Djokovic, 39, defeated Félix Auger-Aliassime, 25, after a super tiebreak.
Now awaits world number one Jannik Sinner, 24, in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
It took a little while, but in the end world number seven Novak Djokovic was able to exhale on the Wimbledon grass after defeating Félix Auger-Aliassime in the longest Wimbledon quarter-final ever.
The Serb won after a super tiebreak, which ended 10–4 to Djokovic.
– It is completely impossible to describe this effort, says Maria Strandlund Tomsvik in Kanal 9.
And it became clear early on that it was an even and long match that awaited.
Annoyed on the roof
The first set of the match took a full 82 minutes and required a long and winding tiebreak before Djokovic took it home on his fifth set point. Before that, the set had also been interrupted, since the Serb had problems with his calf and needed treatment.
The second set went all the faster and ended 6–3 in favor of world number three Auger-Aliassime. After that, however, it was time for another interruption when the roof over Wimbledon’s center court was to be closed – much to the chagrin of the players.
“Totally unlikely!”
After the break, Djokovic still seemed bothered by his struggling bet, but no more than he took the third set, 6–3.
The fourth was all the more even and a tiebreak would again be required, which the Canadian Auger-Aliassime won.
And the dramatic match would of course have a dramatic resolution. 6-6 in the tie led to a super tiebreak – where the Serb showed his routine.
Despite the betting problems and the fact that the much younger Canadian seemed to have more energy left, Djokovic managed to muster the power required to win the match.
– It is completely improbable, physically! exclaims expert Jonas Björkman.
Sinner awaits in the semi-finals
The reigning Wimbledon champion and world number one Jannik Sinner awaits in the semi-finals. Earlier on Tuesday, the Italian won his quarter-final without giving up a single set (7–5, 7–6, 6–3) against German Jan-Lennard Struff, 36, who is ranked 74 in the world.
– It was a big challenge today. I felt good physically, it was a good step forward, Sinner said after the match, according to the BBC.
In the last major Sinner participated in, the French Open in Paris, the 24-year-old surprisingly went out already in the second round. After the outing, he talked about how the heat affected him – but on Monday he handled the 30 degrees better.
– We worked hard after Paris to understand what went wrong and now prepared in the best way.
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