Novak Djoovic battled to a set of Wimbledon records on Tuesday as taking five and a quarter hours to knock out Felix Auger-Aliassime in five sets to reach a 15th semi-final at the grasscourt major.

The winner of a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles won a final-set champion’s tiebreak to conclude a 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (10-4) win, moving into a Friday semi against world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

The match was the longest quarter-final in tournament history by the 39-year-old, most senior semi-finalist in half a century of event history.

He won on he first of five match points as his Canadian opponent drove a return long.

“I won with a lot of heart, a lot of management of the nerves and the extreme tensions you feel in these kinds of matches,” he said after the epic.

Novak Djokovic does a victory jig after record breaking 5 set quarter final win

“In the final tiebreak, it was anyone’s match, the scoreline was so even all the way through.

“These are the moments that I play tennis for. I wish this was a final so I would not have to worry about how the body will feel tomorrow.

“I’m happy, I’m happy that I won. This is one of the best matches on this court of my career.”

Djokovic has figured in the previous seven Wimbledon semis. “Right now it’s all business, I’m still in the tournament and I’m facing the best player in the world next.”

It took Djokovic 82 minutes to win the opening set, receiving a medical timeout for a leg problem after nine games, with FAA saving a pair of set points to level at 5-5.

The set went to a tiebreaker, which Djokovic won on his fifth opportunity.

The Canadian third seed struck back in a long second set, which included a 13-minute second game where Djokovic held for one apiece.

But the 39-year-old was broken to trail 5-3 before his opponent squared the match with an ace.

A decision at 7:40 p.m. to lose the roof with at least 90 minutes of daylight remaining drew ire from Djokovic, with the “indoor” conditions now favouring FAA. 

With the roof closed, Djokovic soldiered on. A first break of the match gave the veteran a 4-2 lead – FAA saved the first eight he had faced – enough to eventually send him to a two-set-to-one margin after more than three hours on court.

The surging Serb broke to start the fourth set, leaving FAA to smash a chair in anger as he went down 1-0. But the Canadian got the break back three games later, 2-all and levelled at two sets each with a winning tiebreaker as the match hit the four-hour mark.

Defending champion Sinner continued his steady Wimbledon progress on Tuesday as he advanced to the semi-finals 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-3 over record-setting German Jan Lennard Struff.

Sinner’s victory in just over two and a half hours, kept the 36-year-old Struff – the oldest first-time quarter-finalist in Open tennis history –  at 0-7 against world No. 1 opponents.

Sinner’s win in 31 Celsius weather marked a successful test for the 24-year-old, who wilted in the Paris heat a month ago to exit in the Roland Garros second round.

Sinner reassured that he and his team have worked on that aspect of his fitness.

“We tried to understand what went wrong and prepared in the best possible way.

“It was a huge test today but I felt comfortable on the physical side. If the heat problem comes up again, we would need to change a few more things”

The top seed wasted little effort in victory but needed to save a set point for the German in the 10th game of the second set after winning the first.

“The second set could have ended in a different way,” the winner said. “Tiebreaks are always 50-50.

“In the third I was more relaxed and his first serve percentage dropped. That helped me to feel more comfortable.

“But I was still happy to finish in three sets.”

Sinner will compete in his 10th semi-final at a major as he plays the final four here for the third time.

The world No. 1 said that he needed to execute to get past Struff. “He;s a very tough player who deserves all he has achieved in his career.

“I think he started better than I did, I was struggling a bit. I had some chances but I could not use them, I”m very happy to be back in the semi-finals.”

In a fourth-round match interrupted by the 11 p.m. Wimbledon curfew on Monday night, reigning French Open winner Alexander Zverev saw off Jiri Lehecka after the pair resumed at 3-all in the third set.

The second seed advanced with a 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (8) scoreline against  the Czech.. 

Leheck immediately got to work, winning 12 of 13 points in an eight-minute burst to take the contest into a fourth set as Zverev settled in.

But the German clawed out the winner on his third match point as Lehecka hit the net with a service return to go through after three hours, 20 minutes.

He now has to return on Wednesday to play Taylor Fritz in a quarter-final.

“It’s more difficult mentally than physically,” Zverev said. “But I’m happy to be playing tomorrow and hopefully I can show my best tennis again.

The 29-year-old was relieved to finally reach the last eight here. “Who would have thought it would only take me 12 years to get there.

“I’m incredibly happy and relieved – but I want to play three more matches.”