Alexander Zverev played his first major match as a Grand Slam champion today, reaching the Wimbledon second round with a hard-fought win over Alexander Blockx.
As opening-round matches go, this was one of the toughest, facing the hugely in-form youngster with a serve as if it were purpose-built for the grass.
Getting through losing just a single set represents a solid afternoon’s work for the German.
Alexander Zverev will not be expecting to win Wimbledon right after his Roland Garros triumph, but he’ll certainly have plenty more confidence than he ever has done before.
Seeing top seeds fall early can only help his cause too.
Alexander Zverev reacts after Ben Shelton’s first-round loss at Wimbledon
Today marked the shock of the tournament thus far with Ben Shelton‘s surprise defeat, losing a lengthy thriller to Otta Virtanen in a fifth-set tiebreak.
Asked about how his exit from the event might impact his chances, as well as Jack Draper’s withdrawal before the tournament began, Zverev admitted: “Honestly, for me, it’s very different than a French Open.
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“For me, the draw doesn’t really matter, because I have played a top-10 opponent one time in my career here, which was Milos Raonic, in 2017. And all the other years, I have lost to players outside of top 10.
“So it’s really about me. It’s really about me getting through my matches and playing my matches, because yes, maybe, like, the names of Jannik and Novak and all those guys, they’re in the other side of the draw, but for me, that doesn’t really matter, because historically I have not gotten to them.
“So for me, it’s about focusing on the matches that are ahead of me to get to those names. I think that’s the most important thing.”
Tim Henman told Zverev to make a change even after winning Roland Garros, but if the draw opens up for it as it could, his serve and newfound aggression might be enough to carry him deep at Wimbledon this year.
Alexander Zverev’s incredible record against youngsters this year
Blockx makes up a strong contingent of growing talents on the ATP Tour, all of whom will have genuine and justified ambitions of one day being at the apex of the sport.
Alongside the Belgian is the already established Joao Fonseca, Jakub Mensik and Arthur Fils, as well as relative newcomers Learner Tien and Rafael Jodar.
Which ATP youngster will win a Masters 1000 title first?
Joao Fonseca, Rafael Jodar, Arthur Fils, or Alexander Blockx…
Having played all of them at least once this year, including his most recent match against Blockx, Zverev has won eight times and not lost once.
At times, he can be criticised for his inability to truly affect Jannik Sinner in their match-ups.
However, against the rest of the tour, including this group of young superstars, the sport’s newest Grand Slam champion is near-faultless.
