Novak Djokovic passes Roger Federer with historic Wimbledon win

Novak Djokovic continues to cement his legacy as one of the all-time greatest tennis players, surpassing fellow legend Roger Federer with a historic win at Wimbledon on Sunday.

He won 7-6 (6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 against Roman Safiullin to advance to the quarterfinals, which was Djokovic’s 106th win at Wimbledon, putting him one past Federer and atop of the all-time list.

Martina Navratilova is currently the all-time leader for men and women with 120 wins, which still gives Djokovic a way to go to catch that number.

“Survive to thrive, that’s how I feel. So hopefully the thriving part is coming,” Djokovic said after his significant win in a lengthy, hard-fought match.

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Sunday’s match at Centre Court lasted nearly three-and-a-half hours. According to ESPN, it was the longest match Djokovic has played in at Wimbledon since the 2023 final he lost to Carlos Alcaraz.

Djokovic has historically run into problems when he’s faced Alcaraz at the event, with Alcaraz also eliminating him in last year’s final. He’s also run into issues when trying to defeat Janik Sinner.

Alcaraz is not part of this year’s field, as he’s dealing with a severe right wrist injury, known as tenosynovitis, which has him sidelined for a considerable stretch of time.

However, the men’s favorite, Sinner, remains among this year’s participants. He’s currently a -175 favorite to win this year’s event, with his match against Shintaro Mochizuki in progress.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Djokovic is a +500 favorite to win it, which, if he did, would be his eighth and tie him with Federer, who holds the record for Wimbledon titles.

It’s impressive to see Djokovic continuing to perform at this high level. One has to wonder if he wore himself out during Sunday’s match, or if he will be prepared for the challenge of his next opponent: Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Djokovic plays against Auger-Aliassime, the No. 3 seed and No. 4 ATP player, at Wimbledon on Tuesday, July 7.

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For more about Wimbledon tennis, head over to Newsweek Sports.