ATP Tour

Auger-Aliassime survives Davidovich Fokina, sets Djokovic QF blockbuster

Felix Auger-Aliassime survived a five-set rollercoaster at Wimbledon on Sunday when he outlasted Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-1 in a gruelling fourth-round battle.

With the four-hour, 26-minute victory, Auger-Aliassime advanced to the last eight at the All England Club for the first time since 2021, when he fell to eventual finalist Matteo Berrettini. The third seed's reward is a quarter-final showdown with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic.

"I have played a few rollercoaster matches in the course of my career, but this for sure is at the top of the charts," Auger-Aliassime said. "It was a crazy match. Great level, high intensity, high focus because you are into the Round of 16... I feel like there were barely a few points between us in the first two sets."

Auger-Aliassime was close to falling into a two-set deficit after dropping the opener, in which he let a set point slip at 6-5, 40/30. Facing three set points while serving at 5-6 in the second set, the third seed showed impressive resolve to save them all before edging the tie-break, converting his second set point after a series of extended baseline exchanges.

After cruising through the third set, Auger-Aliassime was in good position. But Davidovich Fokina continued showing his entertaining brand of tennis, producing a diving volley that left the crowd in raptures. Even so, the third seed served for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set.

However, Davidovich Fokina broke back to spark a turnaround, then edged a tense tie-break to force a deciding set. Auger-Aliassime, the No. 4 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, ultimately steadied himself in the fifth, converting his seventh match point to seal his place in the quarter-finals.

The Canadian finished having fired 26 aces and saved six of seven break points he faced. With his victory, Auger-Aliassime moved ahead 4-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head Series with Davidovich Fokina: The Canadian's only loss to the Spaniard came in the second round of the Australian Open in 2025.

Standing between Auger-Aliassime and his first semi-final appearance at The Championships will be Djokovic, who earlier in the day defeated Roman Safiullin 7-6(6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to record his 106th win at SW19 and surpass Roger Federer’s record for the most by any man. Djokovic and Auger-Aliassime's rivalry is level at 1-1, with both of their previous encounters coming in 2022 at the Internazionali BNL D'Italia and Laver Cup, respectively.

Despite Sunday's defeat, Davidovich Fokina can reflect on a positive grass-court stretch. Last week the Spaniard captured his long-awaited first title on home soil in Mallorca before reaching the fourth round for the first time at SW19.