Wimbledon 2026 results: Novak Djokovic beats Roman Safiullin to break Roger Federer’s match-wins record
Novak Djokovic achieved the all-time record for most men’s singles match wins at Wimbledon, but had to overcome moments of visible disappointment to beat qualifier Roman Safiullin and reach the quarter-finals.
Djokovic equaled Roger Federer’s record with a third-round victory on Friday, and the 39-year-old scored his 106th win in SW19 by beating 132nd-ranked Safiullin 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 3-6 6-3 on Sunday.
This is second only to nine-time women’s champion Martina Navratilova’s 120 wins.
Djokovic, who is trying to match Federer’s men’s record of eight Wimbledon titles and claim a record 25th major title, was the overwhelming favorite for Safiullin but found his final test to be far from simple.
Safiullin, a former quarter-finalist, broke down in tears after his stunning third-round victory over rising star Joao Fonseca, who has been battling an injury six months ago from which he fears he will never fully recover.
The free-kick-hitting 28-year-old Russian was rewarded for his persistence by taking his first set in four meetings with former world number one Djokovic to extend the contest beyond the three-hour mark.
But as he did against Arthur Rinderknech in the previous round, Djokovic secured victory by taking the fourth set, setting up a last-eight meeting with Canadian third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime or Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
He did so despite having an obvious eye problem early in the contest, the Serb later receiving a warning for audible obscenity and was lucky to avoid a penalty by throwing the ball to the back of the opposite side of the court after losing serve in the third set.
Despite the intense emotion he felt upon reaching this stage, Safiullin looked full of conviction as he embarked on his attempt to pull off a major upset, and he responded to Djokovic’s immediate break of serve by winning five of the next six matches.
However, Safiullin was unable to change this positive position, faltering while serving at 5-3 in the set and eventually falling behind in the tiebreak.
Despite a 125-place ranking difference, Safiullin remained tied to Djokovic in the second set, until he presented the Serb with an opening opportunity in the sixth game and eventually conceded a fourth break point.
Having to go through three consecutive five-set matches since the last qualifying round was starting to take its toll, as Safiullin had to take a medical timeout in the third set due to a left leg problem.
But he overcame the challenge to capture his first set in four tour-level matches with Djokovic, who conceded just 57% of his first serves and took out his frustrations with the ball after Safiullin took the sixth break point to take a 4-2 lead.
Despite this incident, which was booed by the crowd, Djokovic reset his reaction at the beginning of the fourth set and broke away from love when Safiullin’s fight started to fade in the second game.
After lifting the final shot to serve victory to Love, Djokovic embraced Safiullin at the net and the energetic qualifier’s performance received the warm applause it deserved as his spectacular run came to an end.
Djokovic has gone to four sets in three of his four wins at this year’s championships but continues to chase history after reaching his 17th Wimbledon quarter-final.
