Novak Djokovic took to the Centre Court on Sunday to lock horns against Roman Safiullin in the fourth round of Wimbledon. This was the first time in almost two years that the two got drawn against each other. Their last meeting dates back to the 2024 Shanghai Masters, where Djokovic prevailed 6-3, 6-2. The two were seen exchanging a few words before entering the court. This is where Safiullin left Djokovic startled with a short but precise message.

“Your name’s everywhere,” Safiullin told Djokovic. Notably, the Russian is known to admire Djokovic quite a bit. Having lost to him on all three occasions that the two of them have had an encounter, Safiullin had even described the former World No. 1 as “the most difficult opponent” he has ever faced in 2023.

Safiullin had made the statement some time after his 6-1, 7-6 defeat to Djokovic in the semifinals of the 2022 Tel Aviv Watergen Open. The Serb is the clear favorite to win the match at Wimbledon not only because of a significant ranking difference but also because of the superior H2H record of 3-0.

But Safiullin gave a tough fight to the 39-year-old in the first set. Both of them proved to be strong on their serve and the set got dragged into a tiebreaker. The Russian gave a tough fight but his resilience eventually faded away as Djokovic clinched the breaker 8-6.

The Serb was clearly the better player when it came to the second set. He clinched an important break on 2-3 and then served out the set comfortably. But Djokovic will be aiming to not let his guard down as he had recently suffered a painful defeat at the French Open despite having a two-set lead over Joao Fonseca.

But Djokovic has already looked to be in better shape at Wimbledon than he was at the Roland Garros. He had begun his campaign with the clash against Wu Yibing. Though the Chinese had put in a good effort, it wasn’t enough to stop the World No. 7 as he triumphed 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Djokovic then improved his performance in the second round against Stefanos Tsitispas and racked up a comfortable 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory. The third round would again prove to be tough for Djokovic as Arthur Rinderknech provided him with a solid challenge. Though the Serb looked to be cruising after winning the first two sets, Rinderknech arguably played the set of his life to drag the match into a fourth.

But Djokovic would eventually prove to be too strong and picked up a 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 victory. A win over Safiullin would be historical for Djokovic as it would see him break one of the most monumental records of his career.

Novak Djokovic on the cusp of surpassing Roger Federer at Wimbledon

The 39-year-old currently sits with 105 wins at the Grand Slam. He had equaled Roger Federer’s tally with his victory over Rinderknech. A win over Safiullin would see Djokovic become the male player with the most victories in the history of the Grand Slam.

Having previously won Wimbledon on seven occasions, Djokovic has one of the best win-loss records at the Grand Slam. He currently has a record of 105-13 and had highlighted just what would it mean for him to break Federer’s record.

“To be able to make history in this sport is a huge honour and a huge privilege,” he had said during his on-court interview after defeating Rinderknech. “Particularly here, it’s always a been a dream childhood tournament of mine. I’m not thinking about whether it’s going to be 105 or 106, but I’m just thinking about trying to win that match on a given day.”

It remains to be seen if Djokovic will be able to get the better of Safiullin and clinch one of the most remarkable records of his career.