ATP Tour

Djokovic ends Safiullin's run & breaks Federer's Wimbledon record

Novak Djokovic has spent much of his career rewriting the tennis record books. And although the 39-year-old was not at his clinical best on Sunday at Wimbledon, he still found a way to etch claim another milestone at the All England Club.

Spirited qualifier Roman Safiullin pushed the seven-time champion hard on Centre Court, but Djokovic ultimately found another gear to claim a 7-6(6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory and reach his ninth consecutive quarter-final at the grass-court major, and his 17th overall. With his 106th singles win at The Championships, the 39-year-old Djokovic surpassed Roger Federer’s all-time record for the most by any man. The only player to have recorded more is former WTA great Martina Navratilova (120).

Most men's singles wins at Wimbledon (all time)

“Another hard-fought win,” Djokovic, the former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, 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.

“I don’t get to feel inferior from the back of the court with too many players. Today was one of those days where I didn’t want to stay in the rally for too long, so I mixed things up. In some moments it worked. In some moments it didn’t. In the end, the accuracy and precision with the first serve was what got me out of trouble.”

Across their three-hour, 26-minute encounter, Safiullin gave little indication that he had arrived at Wimbledon without a tour-level victory in 2026. The former World No. 36, whose 2025 season ended after the US Open because of injury, took a medical timeout in the third set to treat his hip before mounting a brave response.

But Djokovic, who had also been taken to four sets by Wu Yibing and Arthur Rinderknech, responded with a far more aggressive mindset to halt the qualifier's impressive run. The Serbian now stands one victory away from a potential blockbuster meeting with World No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner, who beat him in last year's semi-finals. First, though, Djokovic will face third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last eight.

_{^{Novak Djokovic embraces Roman Safiullin after their four-set battle at Wimbledon on Sunday. Photo: Henry Nicholls / AFP via Getty Images}}

After negotiating Rinderknech's dangerous serve-and-volley game in the previous round, Djokovic faced a completely different examination on Sunday afternoon. Armed with heavy groundstrokes, Safiullin embraced extended baseline exchanges and more than matched the Serbian throughout much of the opening set, which he led 5-2.

Djokovic saved two set points in that game before battling back to move ahead 6/4 in the tie-break. Safiullin had shown outstanding patience in the rallies up to that stage, and that composure again came to the fore when he erased two set points to draw level at 6/6. But when the pressure peaked, the qualifier faltered during a backhand exchange, attempting a drop shot that floated wide to give Djokovic a third opportunity to close out the set. No mistake this time.

Raising his intensity in the second set, Djokovic highlighted his trademark resilience during a 10-minute return game at 3-2. The 39-year-old mixed occasional unforced errors with moments of brilliance, including a deftly floated return winner that drifted beyond Safiullin, before converting his fourth break point to tighten his grip on the contest.

Safiullin took his medical timeout at 3-2 in the third set, but continued to test Djokovic with his determination, claiming three of the next four games to spark hopes of a comeback. By then the match had become an increasingly physical contest, but Djokovic emerged for the fourth set with renewed aggression, and the shift in approach quickly proved decisive.

Only twice in his career has Djokovic failed to capitalise on a two-set lead, including just five weeks ago at Roland Garros, where 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca stunned the 24-time major champion. Yet the Serbian made sure history would not repeat itself on Sunday at Wimbledon.