Qualifiers advance to face Djokovic and Sinner at Wimbledon

Qualifiers Roman Safiullin and Shintaro Mochizuki advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon after defeating higher-seeded opponents in their third-round matches. Safiullin defeated 24th seed Joao Fonseca 6-3 6-3 6-3 on Court Two. The 28-year-old Russian saved two match points during his opening match against 12th seed Andrey Rublev and has now won six consecutive matches at the tournament.

Safiullin had not won an ATP Tour-level match this year before qualifying and had ended his 2025 season after the US Open. He will face seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in the fourth round on Sunday.

Safiullin said the victory followed treatment for an injury that forced him to stop playing after the US Open. He told the BBC the emotion came from the hard times during his recovery period. He has faced Djokovic three times previously and said he hopes to give the seven-time champion problems on court.

Mochizuki's run Shintaro Mochizuki defeated 23rd seed Rafael Jodar 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 6-4. The world number 151 had lost all six tour-level matches this season before Wimbledon. Mochizuki will face reigning champion Jannik Sinner in the fourth round.

He said he views Sinner as a celebrity and described the feeling of reaching this stage as strange. Mochizuki is the fourth Japanese man to reach the men's singles fourth round at Wimbledon. Naomi Osaka, who won her own third-round match earlier on Friday, watched from the stands on Court 18.