Djokovic outlasts FAA in 5-hour Wimbledon epic

LONDON -- Novak Djokovic was pushed to five sets by Felix Auger-Aliassime before the seven-time Wimbledon champion prevailed 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) after more than five hours on Tuesday to set up a semifinal against defending champion Jannik Sinner. Sinner beat Djokovic in straight sets in last year's Wimbledon semifinals; and Djokovic outlasted the Italian over five sets in the last four of this year's Australian Open. The 39-year-old Djokovic continues to break records as he chases a 25th Grand Slam title. He's reached a record-setting eighth consecutive Wimbledon final four -- moving him one ahead of Roger Federer for most consecutive men's singles semifinal appearances at the grass-court tournament. The 5-hour, 15-minute thriller equaled the longest Wimbledon match of Djokovic's career, the 2018 semifinal against Rafael Nadal, which was the second longest of his major career (2012 Australian Open final, also against Nadal, that went 5:53). "With racket and a lot of heart," Djokovic said on-court of how he won, "and management of the nerves." "These are the kind of moments I still play tennis for." It was the 50th five-setter Djokovic has played at a major, breaking a tie with Stan Wawrinka for most in the Open era. His 38 wins in major matches to go the distance are the most by any man in tennis history. Since 2003, there has been at least one member of the "Big Three" -- Djokovic, Nadal or Federer -- in every Wimbledon semifinal. The last final four to not include them, in 2002, featured Lleyton Hewitt, David Nalbandian, Xavier Malisse and Tim Henman. At age 39, Djokovic becomes the oldest semifinalist at a major since Ken Rosewall at the 1977 Australian Open (Rosewall was 42). Djokovic's match against Sinner on Friday will mark the No. 7 seed's 55th career major semifinal appearance, the most by any man all-time. ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.