Djokovic Reaches the Wimbledon Semi-Finals at 39

Plant-based Novak Djokovic is into the Wimbledon semi-finals at the age of 39 after beating Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(10) 3-6 6-3 6-7(4) 7-6(10-4) on Tuesday night.

The match lasted five hours and 15 minutes, the longest quarter-final in Wimbledon history, and finished in a deciding tiebreak just before the 11pm curfew. A round after his 106th win at the All England Club took him past Roger Federer for the most ever, he is now the first man to reach the last four eight years in a row, according to Reuters. Auger-Aliassime pushed him all the way, but Djokovic held his nerve to take the deciding tiebreak 10-4.

I won with a racket and a lot of heart.

He called it "one of the best matches I was part of on this court, in my career." It's a record 15th Wimbledon semi-final for Djokovic. He meets defending champion Jannik Sinner on Friday for a place in the final, the ATP reports.

Five-hour matches at 39 need serious recovery, and Djokovic has long credited the way he eats. He doesn't like the vegan label, and he is reported to eat some fish at times, but his diet is mostly plants. "I do eat plant-based. I think that's one of the reasons why I recover well," he told reporters in 2019, as reported by PA.

This is the latest chapter in a remarkable late career. He won Olympic gold at 37 to complete the Golden Slam, won his 101st title in Athens last November and in January beat Sinner to reach the Australian Open final.

Thirty-nine and still going five hours. Powered by plants.