Novak Djokovic has equalled Roger Federer's record for most men's singles wins at Wimbledon with his 105th victory at SW19, and promptly challenged the retired Swiss legend to come back for a one-off match to decide who holds the outright record.
Djokovic Reaches Last 16 After Four-Set Win
The 39-year-old Serb, a seven-time Wimbledon champion and 24-time Grand Slam winner, defeated France's Arthur Rinderknech 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5) on Thursday to reach the fourth round. He will face Russia's Roman Safiullin on Sunday.
Djokovic raced into a two-set lead before Rinderknech fought back to take the third set 6-1. The Serb ultimately prevailed in a fourth-set tie-break to secure his place in the last 16.
Djokovic Reacts to Equalling Federer's Record
After the match, former player turned BBC Sport pundit Annabel Croft informed Djokovic that he had equalled Federer's men's singles win record at Wimbledon. However, she also noted that Martina Navratilova holds the all-time record with 120 singles wins at the tournament.
"This was your 105th singles win here at Wimbledon, so you've actually equalled the great Roger Federer who had the overall record here in men's singles," Croft said. "But unfortunately there is a little bit of bad news, Martina Navratilova has 120 (wins), have you got 15 more wins in you here at Wimbledon?"
A bemused Djokovic quipped: "Well, I'm sure after 120, there will be another person you mention..." He then called for Federer to come out of retirement for a match to decide the men's record.
Djokovic Proposes Match with Federer
"I propose a match between me and Roger [Federer] for 106! Whoever wins it, gets it. Let's just stop this here and let's call him down," Djokovic said, addressing the 44-year-old Federer, who retired in 2022.
Djokovic, who also won Olympic gold in 2024, reflected on his performance: "Obviously to be able to make history on this court is a huge honour and privilege. This was always a dream childhood tournament of mine. I'm not really thinking about how many more I can get, I'm just really trying to win the match on a given day."
Djokovic Looks Ahead
"At this age and stage in my career, every day brings something new and unpredictable for me. I'm hoping that I will come out at my best in a few days' time," Djokovic added.
He also joked about his dancing skills, saying his daughter has been teaching him but he is "pretty poor." "More than tennis, I hope that my dance moves will improve because my daughter has been teaching me but I'm pretty poor. She didn't give me a smile in the end, she was more like: 'Yeah, we have to practice!' But hopefully I can have many more dances throughout the rest of this tournament. We will see."
