Novak Djokovic claimed the all-time record for most men's singles match wins at Wimbledon, but had to overcome moments of visible frustration to beat qualifier Roman Safiullin and reach the quarter-finals.
Djokovic had matched Roger Federer's record with his third-round victory on Friday, and the 39-year-old earned his 106th win at SW19 by defeating the 132nd-ranked Safiullin 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 3-6 6-3 on Sunday.
That is second only to the 120 wins achieved by nine-time women's champion Martina Navratilova.
Djokovic - who is bidding to match Federer's men's record of eight Wimbledon titles and claim an outright record 25th major title - was the overwhelming favourite against Safiullin, but found his latest test far from straightforward.
Safiullin, a former quarter-finalist, was in tears after his stunning third-round victory over rising star Joao Fonseca, having struggled with an injury he feared he would never fully recover from six months ago.
The free-hitting Russian, 28, was rewarded for his persistence when he took his first set in four meetings with former world number one Djokovic to prolong the contest beyond the three-hour mark.
But, just as he did against Arthur Rinderknech in the previous round, Djokovic captured the fourth set to seal victory and set up a last-eight meeting with Canadian third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime or Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
He did so despite an apparent issue with his eyes early in the contest, while the Serb later received a warning for an audible obscenity and was fortunate to avoid a penalty after firing a ball to the back of the opposite side of the court after losing serve in the third set.
Despite his outpouring of emotion after reaching this stage, Safiullin appeared full of belief as he began his bid for a monumental upset, responding to Djokovic's immediate break of serve by winning five of the next six games.
But Safiullin could not convert that positive position, faltering as he served for the set at 5-3 and eventually coming up short in the tie-break.
Despite the 125-place ranking gap, Safiullin continued to stick with Djokovic in the second set, until he presented the Serb with an opening in the sixth game and eventually conceded a fourth break point.
The toll of having to come through three consecutive five-set matches since the final round of qualifying to arrive here began to take its toll as Safiullin required a medical timeout for a left-leg problem during the third set.
But he successfully managed that issue to capture his first set in four tour-level meetings with Djokovic, who landed only 57% of his first serves and took out his frustration on a ball after Safiullin took a sixth break point for a 4-2 lead.
Despite that incident, which was booed by the crowd, Djokovic reset and launched his response at the start of the fourth set, breaking to love in the second game as Safiullin's challenge began to fade.
After lifting over a closing drop shot to serve out victory to love, Djokovic embraced Safiullin at the net - and there was deserved warm applause for the spirited qualifier's performance as his superb run came to an end.
Djokovic has now been taken to four sets in three of his four wins at this year's championships, but remains in the hunt for history after reaching his 17th Wimbledon quarter-final.

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