Djokovic breaks Federer's all-time Wimbledon wins record; Osaka stuns world No.1 Sabalenka in the fourth round

Summary

Novak Djokovic recorded his 106th Wimbledon singles victory on Day 7 (July 5), beating Russia's Roman Safiullin 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to surpass Roger Federer's all-time record of 105 wins at the All England Club. Djokovic, 39, served 14 aces and won 6 of 7 break points. Naomi Osaka beat world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 7-6(2) on Centre Court to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinal for the first time in her career; Sabalenka saved one match point in the tiebreak before Osaka closed it 7-2. Jannik Sinner defeated qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki 6-3, 7-6, 6-3; Felix Auger-Aliassime overcame Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in five sets (3h42, the tournament's longest match); Jan-Lennard Struff advanced when Hubert Hurkacz retired in the fifth set with a right knee injury. Jessica Pegula also advanced on Day 7, defeating Ivana Jovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 to confirm her quarterfinal place. The men's quarterfinal draw is set: Djokovic vs Auger-Aliassime, Sinner vs Struff. The confirmed women's quarterfinals are Osaka vs Muchova and Gauff vs Pegula; the fourth women's quarterfinal slot awaits the Eala-Paolini result on July 6.

The split

British press (BBC, The Guardian, The Times) led with Djokovic's record as the crowning late-career achievement of a player who spent 15 years in the public shadow of Federer and Nadal while assembling a statistically unprecedented CV. Serbian media (Blic) ran front-page banner coverage. Japanese-language outlets and South Asian media (SportsTak, NHK, Times of India) focused almost entirely on Osaka, whose Japanese heritage makes her a commercial and cultural figure across the Asia-Pacific in a way Sabalenka is not. French and Spanish sports media balanced both stories; the Auger-Aliassime five-setter drew extra attention in Canada and among Spanish commentators covering Davidovich Fokina. Belarusian state media ran a brief dispatch on Sabalenka's exit with no detail on the scoreline.

By the numbers

• 106, Djokovic's total Wimbledon singles wins on July 5, overtaking Federer's record of 105
• 6-2, 7-6(2), Osaka's scoreline beating world No.1 Sabalenka
• 3h42, duration of Auger-Aliassime's five-set win, the longest match at Wimbledon 2026
• 14, aces served by Djokovic against Safiullin
• 7, consecutive sets won by Osaka at the 2026 Championships through Day 7
• 36, Jan-Lennard Struff's age in the quarterfinal, oldest man in the men's draw

Why it matters

Djokovic's 106th win settles the Wimbledon record table definitively, but the open question is how many more he will add: he is seeded fifth this year after a six-month injury layoff, still reaching every quarterfinal at 39. Osaka reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinal is the tournament's most debated women's story: she withdrew in 2023 and struggled on grass throughout her mid-career, making this run evidence of a real technical re-tooling rather than a favourable draw. With Sabalenka out, the women's draw has Osaka, Gauff, and Muchova confirmed in the quarterfinals, with the Eala-Paolini match on July 6 determining the eighth name. The era after Sabalenka's grass dominance is not declared, but this Wimbledon is forcing the question.

What to watch

• Djokovic vs Auger-Aliassime quarterfinal (July 7-8): whether the record extends further, and Felix's first Grand Slam quarterfinal
• Osaka vs Muchova quarterfinal: Osaka's first Wimbledon QF against the 2023 Wimbledon finalist; Gauff faces Pegula in the other confirmed women's quarter
• Eala vs Paolini (July 6): the Philippines' Alexandra Eala within one win of the first Grand Slam quarterfinal by a Filipino player
• Struff at 36 as a quarterfinal dark horse: the tournament's fastest serve, now facing Sinner's baseline dominance