WIMBLEDON, England -- Pete Sampras tied Rod Laver for Wimbledon's second-longest winning streak and returned to form Friday in his bid for a record eighth title at the tournament.

Sampras, who struggled past 265th-ranked Barry Cowan in five sets two days earlier, got his 31st straight victory by beating Sargis Sargsian of Armenia 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 to reach the fourth round.

Only Bjorn Borg has a longer winning streak in the tournament, 41 matches.

Sampras, winless since capturing a record 13th Grand Slam victory at last year's Wimbledon, can tie Borg for the longest run of championships if he wins his fifth straight this year.

"It's not really a big focus of mine whereas last year the record certainly was a big focus," Sampras said. "But seven out of eight -- I'll take that."

At one juncture in the second set, Sampras showed a rare playful side after he slipped as Sargsian returned a serve and the ball rolled up his shorts. Sampras, flat on his back, looked up at the sky, then beckoned a ball boy to him, pointed toward his leg and smiled. They chatted briefly, Sampras retrieved the ball and play resumed.

The victory gave Sampras a 56-1 record at Wimbledon since 1993, when he won his first title, with the loss against Richard Krajicek during the 1996 quarterfinals. Sampras is 62-5 overall here.

"There's always pressure. It's just the nature of what we do," he said. "It's not quite as severe as last year."

On Friday, Sargsian served only five aces and Sampras broke his serve in the last game of the second and third sets. The winning point was a crosscourt backhand return that Sargsian couldn't reach. Sampras had 20 aces.

His next opponent, in the round of 16 on Monday, will be 15th-seeded Roger Federer. The 19-year-old Swiss player beat No. 33 Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (2).

Rain delayed play early in the day's schedule before the sun broke through by mid-afternoon.

Fourth seed Marat Safin of Russia continued his best ever run at Wimbledon by defeating German David Prinosil 7-6 (1), 6-3, 5-7, 1-6, 6-3. He'll face No. 13 seed Arnaud Clement in the fourth round. .

In a match of popular unseeded players, Goran Ivanisevic outslugged Andy Roddick, taking a big step in his own career revival while ending the American teen-ager's Wimbledon debut.

Ivanisevic, a three-time Wimbledon runner-up but never a champion, dropped his racket and pulled his white shirt off as his 41st ace landed to end the match. Roddick doffed the white cap he wears backward and the two had an unusually long chat at the net.

The Croatian won the battle of the belters 7-6 (5), 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 to move into the fourth round. Once ranked second in the world, the 29-year-old Ivanisevic had shoulder problems last year and is ranked 125th. He got into the tournament with a wild card.

"The first day I came here (this year) I said, `I want to leave this place proud of myself,"' Ivanisevic said. "So far, I can't be prouder than I am."

Ivanisevic's victory set up a fourth-round match with Greg Rusedski, another powerful hitter, whose 149 mph serve is the fastest recorded on the men's tour. Rusedski, one of two British players left in the tournament, advanced with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory against eighth-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero.