Djokovic breaks Federer’s Wimbledon record with 106th match win to reach quarterfinals

Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball to Roman Saffiulin of Russia in their fourth round men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga) 2026-07-05T16:50:26Z London (AP) — Novak Djokovic screamed out his frustrations at times before overcoming a surprisingly tough challenge from 132nd-ranked qualifier Roman Safiullin on Sunday to break one of Roger Federer’s Wimbledon records. Djokovic had to save two set points when trailing 5-2 in the first set and was warned for apparently screaming out an obscenity in Serbian on Centre Court when he was broken early in the third. But the seven-time Wimbledon champion went on to win 7-6 (6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 for his 106th match victory at the All England Club. That puts him one ahead of Federer atop the all-time list for men, although he still trails Martina Navratilova’s 120 match wins. It also puts him into the quarterfinals for the 17th time — one behind Federer’s record — and three matches away from joining his former rival on eight Wimbledon titles. But the Serb acknowledged that he will have to raise his game in order to get there. “Survive to thrive, that’s how I feel,” Djokovic said when asked to sum up his first week of the championships. “So hopefully the thriving part is coming.” The 39-year-old Djokovic has never lost a Grand Slam match against a player ranked as low as Safiullin, or to a qualifier, but looked in danger at times on Centre Court. Djokovic seemed to struggle with the sunny and windy conditions in the first set before rallying from 5-2 to force a tiebreaker, where he converted his third set point. In the third, he got the warning from the umpire after going 2-0 down and then drew boos from the crowd when he hit the ball away in frustration after losing the set. (