Hard to please: Novak Djokovic did not enjoy ugly, record-breaking Wimbledon victory

 The Serb defeated qualifier Roman Safiullin 7-6(6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to reach his 66th Grand Slam quarterfinal. Djokovic has also progressed to the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the ninth consecutive edition.

By overcoming the Russian, he became the first man to record 106 singles victories at the All England Club, moving past 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.

Despite achieving the landmark, the 39-year-old was far from satisfied with his performance, admitting he struggled to find his best level during various stages of the three-and-a-half-hour contest.

"To be honest, haven't felt really great on the court, so I was just relieved to get out of it and get a win," he revealed during his post-match press conference.

"Satisfaction and enjoyment was not part of today's win, to be honest. Of course, I'm relieved and happy to win it, but I haven't enjoyed it. Hopefully next match will be better in that sense."

"No, not physical. Just, I think, the game," he continued.

"Physical was kind of okay. Just game-wise, I didn't enjoy my tennis. It's also due to him putting a lot of pressure on me, playing well. I kind of struggled to find the game, desired level in the game that I'm looking for that I had, I think, in the second round particularly.

"But a win is a win, even if you win ugly."

Djokovic has already endured a challenging route to the quarter-finals, having dropped sets to Yibing Wu and Arthur Rinderknech before overcoming Safiullin in four sets.

The Serb will next face Felix Auger-Aliassime after the Canadian battled past Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a gruelling five-set encounter.

Djokovic and Auger-Aliassime are tied 1-1 in their head-to-head series, although they have not faced each other since 2022.

Should the former world No 1 progress, he is projected to meet defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals. Djokovic also has the benefit of two full days to recover before that clash, as will his hypothetical opponent.

The seven-time Wimbledon champion has now reached the quarter-finals in each of his last nine appearances at the Championships and has won seven of his last eight completed matches at that stage.

"I've been fortunate to play many matches on the highest stage of Grand Slams," he later commented.

"My memory is not really good these days. You're asking me. I'm trying to think about what Grand Slams I had similar experience and then ended up winning.

"I mean, there's been definitely more than few where you go through a difficult match or two at least on your path to win a championship.

"Of course, I'm a perfectionist at core. I always want the best game, the best performance for myself and for others and for the crowd.

"It's not always possible, and sometimes it's hard for me to accept that and deal with it.

"It's always kind of like that fresh off the court. Need to just move on and obviously learn and be better next time."

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