Five hours and fifteen minutes. That’s how long it took 39-year-old Novak Djokovic to overcome 25-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4). An instant classic, it was the longest quarterfinal in Wimbledon history.
Following the victory, reporters compared the former World No. 1, currently ranked 7th, to fellow 39-year-old Lionel Messi, who had led Argentina to a comeback win at the World Cup earlier that same day.
“It would be nice to play 90 minutes like him,” joked the Serb.
At his advanced age, he would have been grateful for a shorter enforced time limit. But tennis, alas, is not like that.
At the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Djokovic required a first-set medical timeout for a calf issue and faced heavy baseline hitting from an opponent 14 years his junior. He surrendered the second set 3-6, but won the third by that same margin. Djokovic and Auger-Aliassime alternated set wins until the fifth, when the veteran sealed the decisive fifth-set super tie-break just before the tournament’s 11 p.m. curfew.
“I won the match with a racquet and a lot of heart,” Djokovic said immediately after the match. “I had to do a lot of nerve management and I had to deal with the extreme tension that you feel in these kind of matches… Let’s keep this interview short because I have no energy left, my friend.”
Hours earlier in Atlanta, Messi led a late comeback for Argentina in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 against Egypt. Argentina trailed 2-0 until the 79th minute, following goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico. Messi had also missed a first-half penalty, which was saved by Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir. But then Messi turned up the heat. He assisted a Cristian Romero header in the 79th minute, then scored the equaliser himself four minutes later. Enzo Fernández scored the winning goal in stoppage time to secure the 3-2 victory.
The win marked the first time a team won a World Cup knockout match in regulation after trailing by two goals as late as the 75th minute. The goal was Messi’s eighth of the tournament, maintaining his scoring streak in nine consecutive World Cup matches.
Meanwhile, Djokovic reached his eighth consecutive semifinal at Wimbledon and his fifteenth overall — an unmatched feat. He also extended his own record to 107 wins at Wimbledon. He had matched, then overtaken, Roger Federer’s tally of 105 this week.
“I’m going to look at all the numbers when I finish my career,” he said. “But right now it is all business.”
Both athletes advance to crunch matchups this weekend. Djokovic faces world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semifinals on Friday, while Messi and Argentina will play Switzerland in the World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday.
