By Shrivathsa Sridhar
LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic reached an eighth straight Wimbledon semi-final after grinding down Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(10) 3-6 6-3 6-7(4) 7-6(10-4) in an epic battle on Tuesday to set up a blockbuster showdown with reigning champion Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic, the seventh seed, chuckled after several missed chances in a long opening-set tiebreak, and had the last laugh when Auger-Aliassime blasted a volley long to surrender a set that he should have comfortably
won.
A double fault from Djokovic gifted Auger-Aliassime a break to go up 5-3 in the next set and the Canadian held his nerve and serve in the next game to draw level in the contest, before the Centre Court roof was closed at around 7.40 p.m. local time.
The move prompted complaints from Djokovic, but he composed himself as the third set got underway and produced cleaner ball-striking to finally break Auger-Aliassime in the sixth game and then tighten his grip on the match.
Auger-Aliassime lost his opening service game in the fourth set and let his frustrations boil over when he whacked his chair with his racket, but put up a brave display and got back on level terms via the tiebreak to force a decider.
There was no separating the pair for 12 games of the final set until Djokovic drew on his experience in the match tiebreak to finally overcome Auger-Aliassime and soak up the deafening applause from a thoroughly-entertained crowd.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in London; editing by Clare Fallon)
