Djokovic moves past another Federer milestone to make quarters

Novak Djokovic added another chapter to his Wimbledon legacy on Sunday as the Serb fought past Russian qualifier ‌Roman Safiullin 7-6 (6) 6-3 3-6 6-3 to earn a record 106th match victory at the All England Club and reach another quarter-final.

The victory moved Djokovic clear of his retired rival Roger Federer on the men's all-time match wins list at the grass court Grand Slam.

The seventh seed ​will now have another piece of history in his sights as he bids to equal the Swiss great's ​haul of eight Wimbledon titles.

Also in pursuit of a standalone 25th Grand Slam trophy, the 39-year-old ⁠Djokovic has steadily gained momentum on the famous lawns of southwest London and heads into the last eight having again ​shown his knack for navigating danger.

"Another hard-fought win," Djokovic said. "Roman started very well and very aggressively. I didn't feel as ​comfortable from back on the court.

"I knew it was going to be a challenge, staying in the rally with him, particularly from the end where you played against the wind pretty much the whole match. He's just a very solid player and I respect him a lot."

UNCHARACTERISTIC ​ERRORS FROM DJOKOVIC

It was far from smooth sailing for the seventh seed under the blazing sun on Centre Court, as ​he twice dropped serve with uncharacteristic mistakes, before saving two set points at 2-5 down to win the first set in a fiercely-contested ‌tiebreak.

World number ⁠132 Safiullin, eyeing a major upset after months out with a hip injury, continued to test Djokovic but crashed his backhand into the net to fall behind 2-4 in the second set.

Having found the opening, Djokovic quickly doubled his lead in the match with some exquisite serve-and-volley tennis, before his frustrations boiled over when Safiullin broke and snatched the third set to ​extend his adventure.

"I haven't felt ​inferior from back of ⁠the court with too many players, to be honest, throughout my career. Today, it was one of those days where I didn't want to stay in the rally for too long," ​Djokovic added.

"I had to mix things up and it worked in some moments and didn't ​in some. But ⁠in the end, I found the accuracy really and precision with the first serve. That really got me out of trouble in the fourth set."

After a tight hold to start the fourth set, Djokovic took his level up a notch to complete the ⁠win and ​set up a quarter-final clash with third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

"Survive to thrive," Djokovic said as he reflected on his first week during which he has dropped sets in three of his ​first four matches. "That's how I feel. Hopefully the thriving part is coming."