Novak Djokovic (ranked 8th, Serbia) has advanced to the round of 16 at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships (total prize money of 64.2 million pounds), tying the record for the most match wins in men's singles.

On July 3 (local time), Djokovic defeated Arthur Rinderknech (ranked 28th, France) 3-1 (7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6<7-4>) in the third round of the men's singles on the fifth day of the tournament at the All England Club's Centre Court in London, England. The match lasted 3 hours and 1 minute.

This marks the 105th career win for Djokovic on the Wimbledon stage.

He has now tied the record for the most men's singles wins at Wimbledon, previously held solely by Roger Federer (Switzerland).

Across both men's and women's singles at Wimbledon, only Martina Navratilova (120 wins, USA) has more victories than them.

Djokovic also tied the Open Era record for the most appearances in the Wimbledon round of 16, reaching the stage for the 18th time.

This record also puts him on par with Federer.

Furthermore, he became the fourth player in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon round of 16 at the age of 39 or older, joining Federer, Pancho Gonzales, and Ken Rosewall.

It was not an easy match.

After taking the first two sets, Djokovic dropped the third set 1-6 in just 18 minutes.

After losing the third set, Djokovic was seen repeatedly punching his left thigh, appearing to be in discomfort. However, he turned the momentum in the fourth-set tiebreak with two consecutive service aces.

When Rinderknech slipped in front of the net while attempting a volley, Djokovic secured the match point with a diving backhand volley winner.

The match concluded with both players lying on the court surface.

"I saw him slip and fall," Djokovic said. "While hitting the final shot, I thought, 'Please just stay there.'"

Regarding tying Federer's total Wimbledon win record, he joked, "It is a great honor and privilege to be able to make history in this sport," adding, "I suggest a match between me and Roger for the 106th win, let's stop here and call Roger," which made the fans laugh.

The 39-year-old Djokovic shares the record for the most major titles with Margaret Court, both having won 24 times.

If he wins this tournament, he will become the sole record holder for most major titles and will also claim the title of the oldest major champion in the Open Era.

Additionally, he would tie Federer's record of 8 total Wimbledon titles.

Djokovic's opponent in the round of 16 is qualifier Roman Safiullin (ranked 132nd, Russia).

Safiullin advanced after defeating Brazil's 19-year-old rising star Joao Fonseca (ranked 27th), who had pulled off a surprise win against Djokovic in the third round of this year's French Open, with a 3-0 (6-3, 6-3, 6-3) victory.

Defending champion Jannik Sinner (ranked 1st, Italy) also secured his spot in the round of 16 by defeating Jenson Brooksby (ranked 81st, USA) 3-0 (6-4, 6-3, 6-4).

Sinner, who showed some instability in the first and second rounds, played without any errors today.

Sinner will enjoy the luck of not facing any seeded players until the semifinals.

This is because Daniil Medvedev (ranked 9th, Russia), who could have met him in the quarterfinals, suffered a shock 0-3 (6-7<4-7>, 6-7<5-7>, 5-7) defeat to Jan-Lennard Struff (ranked 74th, Germany) in the third round today.

In the women's singles, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) advanced to the round of 16 by defeating Jelena Ostapenko (ranked 31st, Latvia) 2-0 (6-4, 6-4).

Sabalenka, who has not dropped a single set in this tournament, extended her record of reaching the quarterfinals in 14 consecutive major tournaments.

However, as she has been stopped at the semifinal threshold in all three of her recent Wimbledon appearances, she is desperate for her first title.

Sabalenka's opponent in the round of 16 is Naomi Osaka (ranked 14th, Japan).

Osaka defeated Daria Kasatkina (ranked 65th, Australia) 2-0 (6-1, 6-3) to reach the Wimbledon round of 16 for the first time in her career.

With this, Sabalenka and Osaka, who have each won four major titles, will face each other in the round of 16.

In their head-to-head record, Sabalenka leads 3-1, including three consecutive wins.

Their most recent encounter was in the round of 16 at this year's French Open, where Sabalenka won 2-0.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)