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Novak Djokovic won the longest quarterfinal in Wimbledon history over Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime on Wednesday, but not without some drama.
Djokovic, 39, recovered and cruised to a 7-6 (12-10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (7-4), 7-6 (10-4) victory to defeat Auger-Aliassime in a thrilling match that lasted 5 hours and 15 minutes. The match needed no more flair, but the tennis legend added some fireworks by arguing with tournament supervisor Denise Parnell about the roof.
Parnell thought the afternoon conditions warranted closing the roof after the second set, but Djokovic wanted to keep the roof open.
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia talks to championship referee Denise Parnell while the roof is closed on Center Court during his men’s singles quarterfinal match against Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London on July 7, 2026. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
“Don’t you want to arrive at 8.30 pm? It’s now 7.40 pm. We can play a completely different set outdoors. We are an outdoor tournament,” Djokovic told Parnell.
“The other day you didn’t want to close it until 8:30 p.m. Now you want to close it.”
Parnell seemed to mention the Jannik Sinner match the other night, but Djokovic didn’t want to hear it.
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts during the men’s singles quarterfinal match against Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London on July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
“With Jannik, I don’t care what happens in his matches. I’m talking about our match right now,” Djokovic said. “You remember the first round, you didn’t close it until 8:20 p.m. Now you want to close it at 7:40 p.m. Where’s the consistency?
“You’re very proud of your rules and you don’t stick to any kind of rules. You have no idea what the rule is.”
After Djokovic’s comment on the rules, the official announcement was made that the roof would be closed.
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates his victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada during the men’s singles quarterfinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London on July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Maja Smiejkowska)
Auger-Aliassime seemed to agree with Djokovic, asking: “So are we sure we’re closing now?” in the middle of Djokovic’s discussion with Parnell.
Despite failing to win the third set outdoors, Djokovic won it 6-3. With his victory over Auger-Aliassime, he became the oldest man to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals in more than 50 years.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion will face Sinner, the defending champion, on Center Court on Friday.
