Novak Djokovic made history at Wimbledon on Sunday and could not have sounded less interested in it. His 106th match-win at the All England Club, a 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 defeat of qualifier Roman Safiullin, carried him past Roger Federer into sole possession of the record for the most men’s singles wins in the tournament’s history.
Told of the milestone, he offered a shrug. “Not on my priority list, to be honest,” he said. “I haven’t thought about it. I didn’t even know about it until after the last match win. That’s really quite insignificant to me at the moment.”
The win was also Djokovic’s 17th Wimbledon quarterfinal, second only to Federer, and his ninth in a row at the tournament. At 39, he became only the third man in the Open Era to reach the last eight here aged 39 or older, after Ken Rosewall and Federer himself (Wimbledon 2021). None of it, he insisted, was on his mind as he walked off court. What was on his mind was how little he had enjoyed the tennis that got him there.
DJOKOVIC “RELIEVED” MORE THAN “HAPPY”
“Satisfaction and enjoyment were not part of today’s win, to be honest,” he said. “I’m relieved and happy to win it, but I haven’t enjoyed it. Hopefully the next match will be better in that sense.” The problem, he was careful to note, was not his body. “It wasn’t physical – physical was kind of okay. Just game-wise, I didn’t enjoy my tennis,” he said, handing the qualifier a share of the credit.
“It’s also due to him putting a lot of pressure on me, playing well. I struggled to find the level I’m looking for, the one I had in the second round particularly. But a win is a win, even if you win ugly. Hopefully I can build from this.”
For a player of his standards, accepting an ugly win is its own discipline. “I’m a perfectionist at core. I always want the best game, the best performance, for myself and for others and for the crowd,” he said. “It’s not always possible, and sometimes it’s hard for me to accept that and deal with it. It’s always like that fresh off the court. You need to just move on, learn, and be better next time.”