Novak Djokovic moved into the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the 17th time in his career after defeating qualifier Roman Safiullin.
Djokovic overcame a third set wobble to beat the former Wimbledon quarter-finalist 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 on Wimbledon Centre Court.
The Serbian superstar will play either Felix Auger-Aliassime or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the next round.
Give us your one crazy prediction for the second week of Wimbledon!
John McEnroe, a three-time champion at Wimbledon, offered his analysis in the immediate aftermath of Djokovic’s fourth round victory.
John McEnroe reveals the ‘good news’ for Novak Djokovic after beating Roman Safiullin
“All he cares about is getting the W [win],” McEnroe said while on punditry duties for the BBC.
“You know, he doesn’t really care how… he probably cares a little bit of how long [he is on court].
“But the good news is is that – well they’re out there battling right now, Felix [Auger-Aliassime] and [Alejandro] Davidovich Fokina.
“If he plays, he’ll be a heavy favourite against either one of those guys because they haven’t been in this position at Wimbledon.
“Then he gets a couple days off. So it’s sort of set up as well as he possibly could have.
“He didn’t seem particularly happy out there, [not as] thrilled with this level of play the way it was maybe against [Stefanos] Tsitsipas,” the American superstar continued.
“But when he needed it, when he had to dig in, that’s when he stepped up and showed the class it’s gotten him win seven times.
“So I don’t think, to me, the outcome was ever really in doubt, to be honest.”
Novak Djokovic’s Wimbledon campaign so far
- R1: defeated Wu Yibing 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
- R2: defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
- R3: defeated Arthur Rinderknech 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6
- R4: defeated Roman Safiullin 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Tracy Austin, the youngest Grand Slam in the Open Era, then asked McEnroe: “What about [when Djokovic was] set points down in that opening set?”
Djokovic trailed 2-5 in the opening and saved two set points before roaring back to claim the first set.
“I think when he served for the first set, that was when you would be worried, if he lost the set,” McEnroe said in response to Austin. “Then he pulled it out in a tiebreaker.
“Then it sort of looked like Safiullin and had some moments of brilliance but also not enough of them put together, so to me, he’s up two sets.
“I mean, what is he? Okay, he’s lost twice in his career.”
Austin then interjected: “Once he’s up two sets it’s kind of done.”
“He was up two sets at the French, but this is a different story,” McEnroe added.
When leading by two sets in Grand Slam matches, Djokovic has lost just twice in his entire career.
The first time it occurred was in the 2010 Roland Garros quarter-finals, when the Serbian star lost 6-3, 6-2, 2-6, 6-7, 4-6, to Jurgen Melzer.
The second instance occurred last month when Djokovic was beaten by Joao Fonseca, 6-4 6-4 3-6 5-7 5-7.
Novak Djokovic overtakes Roger Federer’s Wimbledon record
By defeating Safiullin, Djokovic has now won more matches than any other individual in the Wimbledon Men’s Singles event.
Djokovic, a seven-time champion at Wimbledon, has now won 106 matches at The Championships.
Roger Federer, an eight-time Wimbledon champion, won 105 matches at the All England Club before retiring in 2022.
Most match wins in the Wimbledon Men’s Singles event
- Novak Djokovic – 106
- Roger Federer – 105
- Jimmy Connors – 84
- Boris Becker – 71
- Pete Sampras – 63
Djokovic still trails nine-time Wimbledon singles champion Martina Navratilova in the all-time standings.
Navratilova, a tennis icon, won 120 matches in the Wimbledon Ladies Singles event.
