TENNIS – Novak Djokovic reached an eighth straight Wimbledon semi-final after grinding down Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(10) 3-6 6-3 6-7(4) 7-6(10-4) in an epic battle last night to set up a blockbuster showdown with reigning champion Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic, the seventh seed, chuckled after several missed chances in a long opening-set tiebreak, and had the last laugh when Auger-Aliassime blasted a volley long to surrender a set that he should have comfortably won.
A double fault from Djokovic gifted Auger-Aliassime a break to go up 5-3 in the next set and the Canadian held his nerve and serve in the next game to draw level in the contest, before the Centre Court roof was closed at around 7.40pm local time.
The move prompted complaints from Djokovic, but he composed himself as the third set got underway and produced cleaner ball-striking to finally break Auger-Aliassime in the sixth game and then tighten his grip on the match.
Auger-Aliassime lost his opening service game in the fourth set and let his frustrations boil over when he whacked his chair with his racket, but put up a brave display and got back on level terms via the tiebreak to force a decider.
There was no separating the pair for 12 games of the final set until Djokovic drew on his experience in the match tiebreak to finally overcome Auger-Aliassime and soak up the deafening applause from a thoroughly-entertained crowd.
Earlier, Sinner ended one of the feel-good stories at this year’s Wimbledon when he tamed big-serving German warrior Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5 7-6(4) 6-3 to reach the semi-finals.
In his 47th Grand Slam appearance, Struff had become the oldest man in the professional era to reach his first major quarter-final, at the age of 36.
Any hopes the world number 74 might have harboured of extending that run were snuffed out in brutal fashion by the Italian top seed.
Struff had served 100 thunderbolt aces to reach the quarter-finals and fired down 12 more missiles on Tuesday but all that firepower did little to throw Sinner off his stride.
Meanwhile, American Coco Gauff and Germany’s Alexander Zverev both broke new ground at Wimbledon yesterday but Naomi Osaka’s title hopes evaporated on a boiling hot day at the All England Club.
Seventh seed Gauff’s relationship with grass has been lukewarm since she made her Wimbledon debut as a 15-year-old in 2019 and had never gone past the fourth round.
The bond is clearly getting stronger though as she proved with a composed 4-6 6-3 6-3 victory over American number one Jessica Pegula on Centre Court.
Zverev, whose Wimbledon ceiling had also previously been the fourth round, returned to finish off dangerous Czech Jiri Lehecka to reach his first quarter-final there.
The 29-year-old had been three games from victory on Monday evening before being snagged by Wimbledon’s curfew and despite allowing Lehecka back into the match on the resumption he completed a 6-4 7-5 3-6 7-6(6) win.
He will be back on court today to face American Taylor Fritz in a battle of the 140mph servers.
Japan’s Osaka’s outfits and tennis have sparkled in equal measure at this year’s Championships, and her dominant victory over world number one Aryna Sabalenka on Sunday had many predicting she could go on and win a fifth Grand Slam title.
The 14th seed ran into inspired Czech Karolina Muchova in the quarter-finals yesterday, however, losing 7-6(4) 6-4.
On a day of personal bests, Muchova also ensured her deepest Wimbledon run after twice falling in the last eight and she will now stand in the way of Gauff.
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