Novak Djokovic had to work for the history he made at Wimbledon, but the result changes the picture at the grass-court major: he is now level with Roger Federer for the men’s singles wins record at the tournament.
The seven-time champion beat Arthur Rinderknech 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4) in the third round on Friday, surviving a rough third set and a tense fourth-set tie-break to reach the second week.
The win was Djokovic’s 105th singles victory at Wimbledon, tying Federer’s men’s record. Martina Navratilova remains ahead of both on 120 wins across the tournament’s singles history.
“To be able to make history in this sport is a huge honour and a huge privilege,” Djokovic said after the match.
Rinderknech made him earn it. The Frenchman lost the first two sets despite piling up winners, then took the third as Djokovic’s level dipped and Centre Court started to sense a match could break open.
But Djokovic found enough in the tie-break, sealing a win that sends him into a fourth-round meeting with Roman Safiullin. Safiullin reached that stage by beating Joao Fonseca 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, after arriving at Wimbledon without a tour-level win this season.
The pressure is now on Djokovic to turn the record chase into a deeper run. He leads Safiullin 3-0 in their head-to-head and has not dropped a set against him, but their next meeting will be their first on grass.
