Novak Djokovic added another milestone to his glittering career on Sunday by becoming the winningest men’s player in: Wimbledon history.Defeated the seven-time champion world no. 132 Roman Safiullin 7-6 (6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to register his 106th match win at the All England Club, Roger Federernor record of 105 victories.Only Martina Navratilova, with 120 Wimbledon match wins, has more tournament wins.The win also sent Djokovic into the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the 17th time, just one short of Federer’s all-time record.
Djokovic survived a severe test
The victory, however, was far from straightforward.Djokovic found himself trailing 5-2 in the opening set and had to save two set points before fighting back to force a tiebreak, which he eventually won.The Serbian also struggled in the third set, where he broke early and received a warning from the chair umpire after shouting in anger. He later drew boos from the Center Court crowd after hitting a ball after losing a set.Despite the setbacks, Djokovic regained control in the fourth set, racing to a 3-0 lead before comfortably serving for the match.
“Live to grow”
After the match, Djokovic admitted that he had not played his best tennis in the opening week of the tournament.“Survive to thrive, that’s how I feel. So hopefully the thriving part will come,” he said.The 39-year-old also apologized for losing his temper during the fight.“I had a few outbursts, a few meltdowns today,” said Djokovic during his court interview.He also revealed that he changed his tactics after struggling to match Safiullin from the baseline.“I don’t feel inferior from behind the court with many players in my career. Today was one of those days where I didn’t want to stay at the rally too long. So I had to mix things up, and it worked. “Djokovic’s next opponent will be the winner of the match between third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and 22nd seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Krejcikova was knocked out, guaranteeing the new women’s champion
The women’s singles draw will crown the new Wimbledon champion for the ninth consecutive edition after defending champion Barbora Krejcikova crashed out in the fourth round.The Czech lost 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 to fellow Czech Karolina Muchova.Krejcikova is the last former Wimbledon champion left in the women’s draw after early exits for Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Serena Williams.Muchova will now face the winner of the match between world no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka in the quarterfinals.On the other hand, the fourth seed Jessica Pegula also booked her place in the last eight with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory against fellow American Iva Jovic.