Game On: Sports News, Highlights & Commentary
- Novak Djokovic argued with Championships referee Denise Parnell over closing the roof, accusing officials of inconsistency about when to shut Centre Court.
- Felix Auger-Aliassime appeared to agree, asking "So, for sure we close now?" amid Novak Djokovic's dispute over roof closure.
- Novak Djokovic became the oldest man in over 50 years to reach the Wimbledon semifinals and will face Jannik Sinner.
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Novak Djokovic won the longest quarterfinal in Wimbledon history on Wednesday over 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, 15 minutes. The match needed no extra flair, but the tennis legend added some fireworks by arguing with tournament supervisor Denise Parnell about the roof.
Parnell thought the evening conditions warranted closing the roof following the second set, but Djokovic wanted to keep the roof open.
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia speaks with Championships referee Denise Parnell as the roof is closed on Centre 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 get to 8.30pm? It’s 7.40pm now. We can play a whole another set outdoors. We’re an outdoor tournament,” Djokovic told Parnell.
“The other day you didn’t want to close it until 8.30pm. Now you want to close it.”
Parnell appeared to bring up Jannik Sinner’s match from the other night, but Djokovic would not 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 like 8.20pm. Now you want to close it at 7.40pm. Where’s the consistency?
“You’re so proud of your rules and you’re not sticking 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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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 and asked, “So, for sure we close now?” in the middle of Djokovic’s argument with Parnell.
Despite not getting the third set outdoors, Djokovic won it 6-3. With his victory over Auger-Aliassime, he became the oldest man to reach the Wimbledon semifinals in more than 50 years.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion will face Sinner, the defending champion, on Friday on Centre Court.
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