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Novak Djokovic won the longest quarter-final in Wimbledon history over Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime on Wednesday, but not without some drama.
Djokovic, 39, rallied 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 extra flair, but the tennis legend added some fireworks by arguing with tournament director Denise Parnell about the roof.
Parnell felt that the evening 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 speaks with championship umpire Denise Parnell as 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)
“You don’t want to come to 8.30pm? It’s 7.40pm now. We can play a completely different set outdoors. We’re an outdoor tournament,” Djokovic told Parnell.
“The other day you wouldn’t close it until 8:30 p.m. Now you want to close it.”
Parnell appeared to bring up Jannik Sinner’s match from the other night, but Djokovic wouldn’t 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 so proud of your rules and you don’t stick to any kind of rules. You have no idea what the rules are.”
After Djokovic’s remarks about 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 their men’s singles quarterfinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London on July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Maja Smiejkowska)
Auger-Aliassime appeared to agree with Djokovic, asking: “So, surely we close now?” amid Djokovic’s spat with Parnell.
Despite not taking 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 faces Sinner, the defending champion, on Friday on Center Court.
