Novak Djokovic set the record for most men’s singles wins at Wimbledon but had to overcome moments of visible disappointment to defeat qualifier Roman Safiullin to reach the quarter-finals.
Djokovic equaled Roger Federer’s record with a third-round win on Friday and the 39-year-old claimed his 106th SW19 victory by beating 132nd-ranked Safiullin 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 3-6 6-3 on Sunday.
This is the second result behind nine-time women’s champion Martina Navratilova’s 120 wins.
The Serbian beat Safiullin despite an apparent vision problem early in the contest, and he was later cautioned for an apparent foul word and was lucky to avoid a penalty after he sent the ball into the back of the opposite court when he lost serve in the third set.
“Survive to thrive is how I feel,” Djokovic said, reflecting on his performance in the first week.
“I hope the prosperous part comes!”
Acknowledging his behavior during the match, he added: “I’m known for my temper tantrums and meltdowns, I had a few of those today, so I apologize.”
“Our mind wanders all the time. It is very difficult to keep him in the present moment. The one who succeeds is the winner.”
Djokovic remains on course for a thrilling semi-final showdown with world number one Jannik Sinner, whose title defense continued to gather momentum as he outclassed qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki.
Sinner, a four-time major winner, claimed his third straight win since surviving a huge scare in his first five-set win over Miomir Kecmanovic.
The 6-3 7-6 (7-0) 6-3 win sent Sinner into his fifth consecutive Wimbledon quarter-final, where the Italian will face Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.