In tennis parlance, 39 years is when your career is in its autumn. But for Novak Djokovic, it is proving to be a glorious second summer.

History-making and record-setting are like second nature to him. Yet, his performance on Tuesday (July 7, 2026), under the dazzling white lights of Centre Court and against an opponent nearly 14 years his junior, was astonishing to say the least.

The Serbian great finished on the right side of a five-hour, 15-minute slugfest to oust third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(4) and set up a much-anticipated last-four meeting with World No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner.

Djokovic has now reached eight straight singles semifinals at Wimbledon. It is also his 15th overall at the All England Club, equalling Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s single-Slam records at the Australian Open and French Open respectively.

In a fantastic co-incidence, Djokovic was early in the first-set tie-break when fellow 39-year-old Lionel Messi was fashioning a thrilling 3-2 World Cup win for Argentina over Egypt in far-away Atlanta.

Asked about it in the post-match press conference, the seven-time Wimbledon titlist chuckled and quipped: “It would be nice to play 90 minutes like him.”

That Djokovic was on the court for three hours and 45 minutes more – albeit in a less explosive and non-contact sport – was testament to his incredible fitness and supreme conditioning.

Djokovic’s ship did not always sail smoothly. He experienced discomfort in his left leg as early as the ninth game and called for a medical time-out. There were multiple occasions when he grimaced between points and continued stretching his legs. He also seemed out of breath after many a long-drawn rally. But he made it look enjoyable, letting out a wry smile from time to time.

It was an evening of undulating fortunes; Auger-Aliassime had set-points in the first stanza but did not capitalise; Djokovic was up a break in the fourth and yet allowed the match to drift into a decider.

But the 24-time Major winner was flawless when it was most required – in the 10-point match-tiebreak where he barely missed a shot.

It was a textbook example of how elites quarantine themselves and elevate their play. As Djokovic later mentioned, it was all about “management of nerves and the extreme tension”.

“These are still the moments I still play tennis for,” Djokovic said, after the longest quarterfinal in Wimbledon history. “I wish it was the final so that I didn’t have to worry about how the body will feel.

“But I am happy. I was telling the kids to go to sleep after the fourth set but they didn’t listen. I am glad they stayed because it was one of my best matches on this court.”

In recent times, the most prominent Italian understudy to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has been Lorenzo Musetti.

He has made the quarterfinals or better at all four Slams, been in the ATP top-10 for a good part of the last 14 months, and even climbed up to a career-high ranking of No. 5 ahead of the Australian Open earlier this year.

Over the past few months, however, Flavio Cobolli has usurped that understudy spot. Ranked outside the top-20 at the start of the season, the 24-year-old broke into the top-10 on the back of a stirring run to the recent French Open final.

On Monday, with a straight-sets victory over fifth seed Alex de Minaur, he made his second straight Wimbledon quarterfinal. He will meet British wild card Arthur Fery, who ended Grigor Dimitrov’s stay by clinching a nerve-wracking five-setter.

“I played one of my best matches ever, especially on this surface, which is always tough,” said Cobolli. “I found a way to a high level for the whole match and it was really impressive,” added the World No. 10.

Encouragingly, the wholesome performance came after quite a few back-to-the-wall efforts. Cobolli recovered from a first set bagel (6-0) to scrape through in five sets against the big-serving Karen Khachanov in the previous round; of the 12 sets he has won, six have been tense tie-breaks.

What should also hold him in good stead is his powerful game. Cobolli belongs to the group of players who literally bludgeon the ball, with Joao Fonseca, Jakub Mensik and Tomas Machac the other prominent members. When combined with a capable serve, it can prove devastating.

Movement and foot dexterity are allies too. After all, Cobolli spent five years at the famed football academy of AS Roma before switching full-time to the racquet sport. Recently in Paris, he did an entire lap of Court Philippe-Chatrier while juggling a tennis ball.

After the win against de Minaur, much to the delight of the Court No. 1 audience, he even re-created Cristiano Ronaldo’s famed mid-air twirl celebration.

The skills are there. The crowd has been charmed. Will silverware follow?

Late in their careers, legends are masters at rationing excellence. It is an act of self-preservation, for trying to radiate class for sustained periods can often be energy sapping. Instead, they choose to remain steady, hang in there when needed, and go for the kill in short bursts.

On a hot Sunday afternoon at Centre Court here, Novak Djokovic did exactly this to quell the challenge from Roman Safiullin 7-6(6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

It was a record 106th match-win for the 39-year-old Serb at Wimbledon as he went past Roger Federer, and it propelled him into his ninth straight singles quarterfinal at the All England Club.

Good going

At the start, it was Safiullin, with his ruffled look, loose-fitting T-shirt and expansive style, who was better. He ran up a 5-2 lead as Djokovic struggled with his depth and appeared troubled by the sun directly hitting his eyes while serving.

Safiullin also had significant momentum coming into the match. Grass is one surface where the value of early round results compounds. The Russian had started in the qualifying, beaten the 12th seed Andrey Rublev in the opening round and then ousted rising star Joao Fonseca in the third.

Six matches are generally good enough to get a feel for the lawns and find your footing on the slippery turf, and Safiullin, whose best result at a Major is also at Wimbledon (quarterfinals in 2023), seemed at ease.

Champion stuff

But not for nothing is Djokovic a seven-time titlist at SW19, and he showed this in the eighth game of the first set by erasing two set-points with a service winner and an inch-perfect ace.

The value of this hold was fully realised in the subsequent game when he broke the Safiullin serve after recalibrating his power and range. The set was secured in the tie-break for the loss of six points.

In the second stanza, Djokovic, again, chose his moments wisely. He broke in the sixth game after earning a break-point with a searing forehand winner, and then executed two first-rate serve-and-volley points at 5-3, 30-30.

In the third set, however, the 24-time Slam champion’s level dropped. After an early trade of breaks, he fought hard in the sixth game to deny Safiullin five chances to go 4-2 up by coming up with aces, on-the-run passes, lobs and volleys. The pressure, though, eventually told, as the World No. 132 took it on the sixth opportunity, and held on to 6-3.

But the 28-year-old’s honeymoon ended there as Djokovic stepped it up a notch to zoom 3-0 ahead in the fourth set. Safiullin wilted, and the stunning low volley on match-point summed up Djokovic’s overall superiority. “I don’t get to feel inferior from the back of the court often, but I did today,” Djokovic said later.

“I didn’t want to stay in the rallies [for long]. I had to change things up, and my accuracy and precision with the first serves got me out of trouble.”

“Survive to thrive” was his mantra, the Serb added. And he did that to a T.

Later, Naomi Osaka, in contrast, only thrived as she reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 6-2, 7-6(2) over World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

It snapped the Belarusian’s 14 straight quarterfinal or better performances and 20 consecutive tie-break wins at Majors, and was her first straight-sets loss at a Slam since US Open 2020.