Novak Djokovic is facing a punishment from Wimbledon officials, despite reaching an eighth successive semi-final on Tuesday.
Djokovic won the longest Wimbledon semi-final on record, as his gruelling five-set showdown against third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime lasted five hours and 15 minutes.
The 39-year-old, who is bidding to become the oldest winner of a Grand Slam in the Open era, outlasted Auger-Aliassime in a thrilling match tie-break, winning 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (10-4).
A titanic victory over the Canadian has set up a mouth-watering showdown with ATP No. 1 Jannik Sinner and a repeat of last year’s Wimbledon semi-final, where he lost to the eventual champion in three sets.
Sinner is the clear favourite to reach his second successive final at SW19, but Djokovic is confident he can repeat his Australian Open heroics after defeating the Italian in five sets.
“I had a very long semi-final against Sinner [in Australia]. This is quarters. Now I have to play Sinner in the semis. There’s a difference in the surface,” the legendary Serbian said after his quarter-final win.
Obviously that was the first big tournament of the year for me, coming fresher from several months of break and preparation. It’s a bit different now.
“But nevertheless, another great, historic run for me at the Grand Slams. This is what counts the most, honestly. I still try to prove to myself and others that I’m able to compete with the best players in the world and beat them on the biggest stage.”
While excitement is building for Friday’s mouth-watering showdown between two of the world’s best players, Djokovic is facing a punishment for his conduct at Wimbledon.
Novak Djokovic becomes 17th player to receive Wimbledon fine
Wimbledon officials handed Djokovic a £5,600 fine for an “audible obscenity” offence.
The All England Club released its latest fines list on Tuesday, confirming the seven-time champion had been sanctioned.
Although the precise incident that triggered the punishment remains unclear, it’s likely to have stemmed from one of his expletive outbursts in the fourth round against Roman Safiullin.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner received a formal warning from the umpire for bellowing “bull****” and several Serbian expletives after going 2-0 down in the third set.