It took nearly 3 1/2 hours against a qualifier ranked No. 132 in the world, but seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic prevailed Sunday for his 106th match victory, eclipsing Roger Federer for the No. 1 spot on the men’s all-time list at the All England Club.
Pursuing Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles, the Serbian legend is just three wins away after outlasting Russia’s Roman Safiullin 7-6 (6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Martina Navratilova holds the overall Wimbledon record with 120 match wins.
Djokovic, who saved two set two points in the first set while trailing 5-2, reached his 17th Wimbledon quarterfinal, one shy of Federer’s record.
The 39-year-old former World No. 1 was also warned for a Serbian obscenity when Safiullin broke his serve in the third set, and apologized for his behavior in his post-match interview.
“Survive to thrive, that’s how I feel,” Djokovic said on Center Court. “So hopefully the thriving part is coming.”
The sun and wind apparently gave Djokovic problems, but he was able to rally from 5-2 in the opening set to force a tiebreaker and win on his third set point. He was warned by the umpire in the third set after going down 2-0, then was booed after hitting the ball away after dropping the set.
In the fourth set, Djokovic rebounded to take a 3-0 lead, then served out the match at love.
“Another hard-fought win,” he said. “Roman started very well. Roman started very well, very aggressively. I didn’t feel so comfortable from the back of the court. I knew it was going to be a challenge staying in the rallies with him. He’s a very solid player… He should be proud of the performance today.”
Djokovic will next play third-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated No. 22 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a five-set thriller 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-1 that lasted nearly 4 1/2 hours.
Auger-Aliassime advanced to the quarterfinals at the All England Club for the first time since 2021, when the Canadian fell to eventual finalist Matteo Berrentini of Italy.
“I have played a few roller coaster 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.”
Already trailing by a set, Auger-Aliassime faced three set points while serving at 5-6 in the second set, then battled back to save all three before securing the tiebreaker on his second set point.
Auger-Aliassime was poised to close out the match after cruising in the third set, but his Spanish opponent broke back while trailing 4-5 in the fourth set and narrowly pulled out the tiebreaker. The decisive fifth set was all Auger-Aliassime — he finished with 27 aces and saved six of seven break points — as he converted his seventh match point to secure the hard-fought victory.
German Jan-Lennard Struff, 36, advanced to his first career Grand Slam quarterfinal when fellow unseeded player Hubert Hurkacz of Poland was forced to retire with a left hip injury.
Struff led 4-2 in the decisive fifth set when Hurkacz, a former Wimbledon semifinalist, pulled out. The match finished 3-6, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2), 7-5, 4-2 ret. Struff awaits the winner of World No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy against Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki.
–Field Level Media
