Novak Djokovic advanced to the Wimbledon third round on Friday evening following a hard-fought victory over Arthur Rinderknech.
Djokovic, who is aiming to win a 25th Grand Slam title, defeated the 25th seed 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 on Wimbledon Centre Court.
The 39-year-old has now won 105 matches at Wimbledon, equalling Roger Federer for the most of any male player in the Open Era.
Novak Djokovic would be the undisputed GOAT if he won Grand Slam number 25 – could anyone argue otherwise?
He has also – perhaps more importantly – kept his time on court at a minimum ahead of the later, and perhaps more energy-sapping, Wimbledon encounters.
After securing victory on Friday, Djokovic offered some insight into his physical state heading into the next round.
Novak Djokovic’s fitness update
“How to put it in simple terms? I think I have done everything I needed to do today under circumstances that were maybe not as good for me as they were in the second round and they were enough to win,” the seven-time Wimbledon champion stated during his post-match interview.
“At this age, every day brings something new and unpredictable for me, he then admitted. “I am hoping that in a few days time I will come out in my best and more than tennis.
“I hope my dance moves will improve because my daughter has been teaching me but I’m pretty poor in terms of the judgement of what I have done,” Djokovic joked, after treating the crowd to some ‘dad dancing’ after the match.
“She did not give me a smile, she was like we have to practice!”
Djokovic will look to continue his excellent form when he plays world number 132 Roman Safiullin in the Wimbledon fourth round later this week.
Safiullin, from Russia, has struggled with a spate of injury issues since reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2024.
However, Safiullin’s physical troubles appear to be lodged firmly in the past, as demonstrated by the Russian’s impressive straight-sets victory over Joao Fonseca on Friday afternoon.
Djokovic will most definitely take great confidence heading into his contest with Safiullin – he has defeated the 27-year-old in all three of their prior meetings on the Tour.
| Tournament | Winner | Score |
| 2022 Tel Aviv | Djokovic | 6-1, 7-6 |
| 2024 Monte Carlo | Djokovic | 6-1, 6-2 |
| 2024 Shanghai | Djokovic | 6-3, 6-2 |
Novak Djokovic comments on equalling Roger Federer’s record
After being told of his impressive achievement, the BBC interviewer then informed Djokovic that he had not in fact equalled the best record in tournament history.
Across the men’s and women’s singles events, Martina Navratilova has compiled the most match wins of any player.
Navratilova, a nine-time singles champion at the major tournament, won 120 singles matches during her legendary career.
“I am sure there is going to be someone else after 120!” Djokovic quipped. “To be able to make history of this sport is a huge honour and privilege and particularly here.
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“It has always been a dream tournament of mine. I am not really thinking about if it’s going to be 106. I am just trying to win a match on a given today.
“Today I was more stressed out, more tension than usual. I knew it was going to be a very challenging match for me which it turned out to be. Just happy to come through.
“I propose a match up between me and Roger and whoever wins it gets 106!” he then joked.
