Djokovic moves past another Federer milestone to make Wimbledon quarter-finals

LONDON, July 5 : 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