Auger-Aliassime had not reached the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon Championships since 2021 and was up against Fokina, who had won his maiden ATP title at the Mallorca Open last month. With the World No.4 being the favorite to win the match, he failed to dominate the game against Fokina.

The Canadian star fired 26 throughout the match against Fokina but would have finished off the tie in the fourth set. Fokina had slipped and was struggling with his leg in the fourth set when Auger-Aliassime was about to serve for the match, but the Spaniard surprisingly won the set and pushed for a decider.

However, Auger-Aliassime claimed the win 6(4)-7, 7-6(6), 6-3, 6(2)-7, 6-1. Hours before the grueling victory, Djokovic had defeated Roman Safiullin in four sets at the Center Court, confirming his place in the last eight. The quarter-final tie will be between Auger-Aliassime and Djokovic, with the duo facing each other for just the third time on tour.

Djokovic and Auger-Aliassime's rivalry is level 1-1, with their last encounter coming in 2022 at the Italian Open and the Laver Cup, respectively. Djokovic has won Wimbledon seven times in his career, while Auger-Aliassime is chasing his maiden Grand Slam. Ahead of their clash, Auger-Aliassime admitted that he's nowhere near the amount of work Djokovic has put into his career:

It is a great honor for me to play this match. Playing here is, yes, one of those matches you want to play for and for which you train and prepare. I can only speak highly of Novak because, again, now that I am a player—I think as a kid I didn't appreciate it as much—but now that I'm a player, the amount of work he has put in over the years… I mean, I don't even come close to that. Just thinking about it is crazy. It makes you dizzy just thinking about it.

Auger-Aliassime now holds a staggering 4-1 lead in his head-to-head record against Fokina on tour. However, Fokina will leave the All England Club with his head high having reached the fourth round of Wimbledon after his Mallorca Open triumph, following his final losses last year.

Novak Djokovic is far from satisfied with his performance at Wimbledon. Despite winning four matches at the grass-court Slam, he has dropped three sets already. Against Roman Safiullin, he reached up to 37 unforced errors and often struggled to contain the Russian star, who had not won a tour-level match this season before arriving at Wimbledon.

Djokovic had the same challenge against Arthur Rinderknech in the third round where even though he was clinical, he struggled to contain the Frenchman's serve and groundstrokes. During his press conference after beating Safiullin in three hours and 26 minutes, he admitted that he's not feeling great on the court:

To be honest, I [didn't] feel really great on the court, so I was just relieved to get out of it and get a win. Satisfaction and enjoyment was not part of today's win, to be honest. Of course, I'm relieved and happy to win it, but I haven't enjoyed it. I enjoy the battle. I enjoy the suffering in a sense, to some extent, even though I don't want it, I don't invite it.

Djokovic's win over Safiullin was his 106th men's singles win at Wimbledon, moving past Roger Federer's all-time mark at the grass-court major. He will now have to find a way to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach the semi-finals. But he has to be at his best on the court to achieve that.

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