Novak Djokovic etched his name deeper into Wimbledon folklore on Thursday, grinding past French 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4) to equal Roger Federer's men's record of 105 singles victories at the All England Club.
The 39-year-old Serb had looked imperious earlier in the fortnight, dismantling former top-10 player Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round, but Centre Court provided a far tougher afternoon this time around. Rinderknech pushed back hard, winning the third set convincingly and forcing a tiebreak in the fourth before Djokovic ultimately sealed the milestone win.
After learning he had drawn level with Federer, the seven-time champion was characteristically playful, suggesting a one-off match to decide sole ownership of the record. More seriously, he reflected that making history at SW19 had always been a childhood dream, adding that his focus remains simply on winning each individual match rather than chasing records.
Only Martina Navratilova, with 120 Wimbledon singles wins, now sits above Djokovic on the all-time list. The victory also gave him an 18th Wimbledon fourth-round appearance, matching Federer's record for that milestone too.
Waiting for Djokovic in the fourth round is Roman Safiullin, a qualifier whose tournament run is one of the most emotional stories of the fortnight. The 28-year-old Russian, ranked 132nd in the world, had not won an ATP Tour match all year before arriving at SW19 after struggling with a serious injury that left his career in genuine doubt. He swept aside Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, breaking down in tears to a standing ovation on Court Two. Safiullin has now won six straight matches at Wimbledon including qualifying, and promises to make Djokovic suffer on Sunday.
TennisDraw users selecting Djokovic to reach the quarter-finals will be watching that fourth-round clash with particular interest.
