LONDON — Novak Djokovic expressed his frustrations vocally at times, but ultimately triumphed over the unexpectedly resilient 132nd-ranked qualifier Roman Safiullin on Sunday, marking a significant milestone by eclipsing one of Roger Federer’s longstanding Wimbledon records.
Facing two set points while down 5-2 in the first set, Djokovic remained undeterred, even receiving a warning for allegedly yelling an obscenity in Serbian after an early break in the third set. Nevertheless, the seven-time Wimbledon champion persevered to secure a 7-6 (6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory, achieving his 106th match win at the All England Club.
This accomplishment places him one match ahead of Federer in the all-time men’s rankings, although he still trails Martina Navratilova, who boasts 120 match wins.
Moreover, this victory propels him into the quarterfinals for the 17th time—just one shy of Federer’s record—and he is now three matches away from matching his former rival’s count of eight Wimbledon titles. Djokovic acknowledged the need to elevate his performance moving forward.
“Survive to thrive, that’s how I feel,” Djokovic remarked when reflecting on his first week at the championships. “So hopefully the thriving part is coming.”
At 39, Djokovic has never faced defeat in a Grand Slam match against someone ranked as low as Safiullin or a qualifier, yet he found himself in precarious situations at times on Centre Court.
Confronted with sunshine and gusty conditions in the initial set, Djokovic rallied from a 5-2 deficit to force a tiebreaker, where he secured the set on his third attempt. In the third set, he received a warning from the umpire while trailing 2-0 and elicited boos from the crowd after a moment of frustration led him to hit the ball away.
During his on-court interview, he apologized for what he termed “the outbursts and the meltdowns.”
“I had a few of those today,” he admitted.
Known for his extraordinary ability to chase down nearly every shot, Djokovic acknowledged that he decided to approach the net more frequently, having been outplayed in lengthy rallies by Safiullin.
“I don’t often feel inferior from the back of the court against many players, to be honest,” Djokovic commented. “Today was one of those days where I didn’t want to linger in long rallies. So I had to mix things up, and it proved effective.”
In the fourth set, he quickly asserted control, jumping to a 3-0 lead before serving out the match without dropping a point.
Next up for Djokovic is a clash with the winner of the match between third-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime and No. 22 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
