Novak Djokovic goes level with Pete Sampras for 2nd-best winning percentage among men at Wimbledon, trails only Bjorn Borg

Novak Djokovic's love affair with Wimbledon continued on Monday, July 10, as he survived a stern challenge from Hubert Hurkacz to reach his 14th quarterfinal - fifth straight - at the grasscourt Major.

Djokovic had to dig deep in the first two sets. In the first, he saved three straight set points at 3-6 in the tiebreak and won the next two points to steal the opener. In a competitive second set, the Serb once again recovered from a mini-break to lead by two sets before the 11 pm Centre Court curfew forced suspension of proceedings.

Both players were solid on serve when play resumed on Monday, but Djokovic dropped serve in the 12th game to lose his first set of the tournament. However, he bounced back immediately - becoming the first player to break Hurkacz this week. The lone break sufficed as the Serb improved to 31-4 on the season, including 18-0 at Majors.

In the process, he brought up his 90th win at SW19, moving level with fellow seven-time champion Pete Sampras (63-7) for the second-best Open Era winning record at Wimbledon (90%). Only five-time winner Bjorn Borg (51-4, 92.7%) is ahead of the pair.

The Serb is into his 14th Wimbledon quarterfinal, level with Jimmy Connors for second-best at Wimbledon in the Open Era. Only eight-time winner Roger Federer (18 quarterfinals) is ahead of the pair.

The 36-year-old will next take on seventh seed Andrey Rublev on Tuesday (July 11) for a place in the semifinals.

---

"I don't recall the last time I felt this miserable in returning games" - Novak Djokovic

The Serb is into the last eight.

Widely regarded as the sport's greatest returner, Novak Djokovic was at a loss for words as he couldn't make a breakthrough on Hubert Hurkacz's serve in the first three sets.

His persistence, though, paid off, as he made his move midway through the fourth set. In his on-court interview, Djokovic paid due credit to Hurkacz for his serving performance.

“Big credit to Hubert for playing an amazing match, tough luck for him today. But he put up a great performance. Honestly, I don't recall the last time I felt this miserable in returning games, to be honest, due to his incredibly accurate and powerful serve," the Serb said.

Commending the Pole for being one of the best servers on tour, the Serb admitted that he was fortuitous to take the opening set.

“He’s got one of the best serves in the world, and it's so difficult to read it. ... But I guess in the important moments, yesterday last night, I was fortunate really, to win that first set. I was 3/6 down in the tiebreak. This match definitely could have gone a different way. But I guess I held my nerves when it mattered, and I'm happy to win," the 36-year-old said.

Djokovic is looking to go level with Federer (8 titles) for most titles by a male player at Wimbledon.