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Novak Djokovic won the longest quarter-final in Wimbledon history on Wednesday against Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, 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 didn’t need any extra flair, but the tennis legend added some fireworks by arguing with tournament supervisor Denise Parnell over the roof.
Parnell thought the evening conditions warranted closing the roof after the second set, but Djokovic wanted to keep the roof open.
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Serbia’s Novak Djokovic talks with Championships referee Denise Parnell as the roof is closed on Center Court during his men’s quarterfinal match against Félix Auger-Aliassime of Canada at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London on July 7, 2026. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
“You don’t want to arrive at 8:30 p.m.? It’s 7:40 p.m. now. We can play a whole different set outdoors. We’re 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 bring up Jannik Sinner’s match the other night, but Djokovic didn’t hear him.
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Serbian Novak Djokovic reacts during the men’s singles quarter-final match against Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 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 only closed it at 8:20 p.m. Now you want to close it at 7:40 p.m. Where is 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 rule is.”
After Djokovic’s remark about the rules, the official announcement was made that the roof would be closed.
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Serbian Novak Djokovic celebrates his victory over Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime during their men’s singles quarter-final match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London on July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Maja Smiejkowska)
Auger-Aliassime seemed to agree with Djokovic and asked: “So, is it safe, we close now?” amid Djokovic’s argument with Parnell.
Despite not getting the third set away, 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 Friday on Center Court.
