Novak Djokovic has added another chapter to Wimbledon history today when he eclipsed Roger Federer in the men's singles match wins at the All England Club as he defeated Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.
It was Djokovic's 106th men's singles win at Wimbledon, which places him ahead of Federer who won 105 titles at the grass-court Grand Slam. In men’s and women’s singles, only Martina Navratilova (120 wins) has enjoyed more success at Wimbledon.
The 39-year-old Serbian also advanced to his 17th Wimbledon quarter-final, an even longer record. It is his ninth straight appearance in the last eight at the All England Club and his record-setting 66th Grand Slam quarter-final overall.
Djokovic next faces Canada’s third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime or Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the semi-finals. The victory there would set up a huge last-four match against the defending champion and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
Despite such a historic achievement, Djokovic conceded: "the match was very tough to win."
"Survive to thrive, that’s how I feel. So hopefully the thriving part is coming," Djokovic said after the contest.
"Our mind wanders all the time. It's very hard to keep it in the present moment. Whoever does that is a winner."
Djokovic was pushed hard for more than three hours on a sweltering Centre Court against world No. 132 Safiullin. The Russian qualifier started with a great start, winning 5-2 in the first set and forcing the seven-time Wimbledon champion to back up.
Djokovic was the kind of person who has always shown toughness. He recovered from break down, forced a tie-break and won 8-6 to take control of the match.
After a six-minute break before the second set, Djokovic came back looking fresh and dominated the set 6-3 with some great groundstrokes and clinical serving.
The Serbian’s intensity was low in the third set as Safiullin continued to attack fearlessly. Frustration started to show as Djokovic was pointing towards his team and slamming a ball into the stands after losing a point, drawing boos from sections of the Centre Court crowd.
After the match, Djokovic apologised for his emotional outburst.
"The outbursts as well, the meltdowns—I had a few of those today as well. I apologise," he said.
Djokovic had a decent fourth-set display to show off and he broke at the crucial point before serving out the match to secure another victory.
But the victory also had some incredible records with it. Djokovic won 20 of his Wimbledon matches against opponents ranked outside the world's top 100 and remains unbeaten in all 34 Grand Slam matches he has played against qualifiers.
The Serbian legend is chasing even more history at Wimbledon this year. A win would see him win a record 25th Grand Slam singles title, surpassing Margaret Court with 24. It would also see Djokovic equal Roger Federer's eight Wimbledon men's singles titles and become the oldest men’s Grand Slam singles champion in the Open Era.
Djokovic also conceded there was room for improvement after another inconsistent performance but his ability to perform better in the big moments has kept his dream of more Wimbledon history alive.
