The match didn't go as hoped for Alexander Zverev. He faced the reality that other top-seeded players have seen at Wimbledon 2026 in the first round. Nothing will come easily.
While Jannik Sinner had to go five sets to win his first match, fifth-seed Ben Shelton wasn't so lucky. He lost in a fifth-set tie-break. For a bit in Zverev's match against Alexander Blockx, one might have assumed another fifth-set match was coming.
The German took the opening set 6-4 and was serving with power and his usually precisoin. Blockx was refusing to fully fade away, though, and stayed in the set. Maybe the entire match would go the same way. Blockx would keep it close but lose in three sets.
Alexander Zverev takes out Alexander Blockx in the first round of Wimbledon 2026
Instead, after a well-played tight second set, Blockx stunned the second-seeded German and won the tie-break 10-8. The third set also ended up in a tie-break, though Blockx struggled to land his first serve a bit more, and Zverev took it 7-5. Surely, the fourth set would be easier.
The two-seed did get a break at 2-all, and most assumed he would serve the set out and move into the second round. Instead, Blockx broke right back to get back to 3-all. Neither player was serving as flawlessly, and at times they were keeping their opponent in games they should have had no business being in.
After the back-to-back breaks, the players began to hold more easily, and tennis fans watching probably assumed that the fourth set would also end in a tie-break, and it would. Maybe most surprising, once in the tie-break, Zverev dominated, not dropping a point to win the match in four sets.
Alexander Zverev will next face Valentin Royer in the second round. The Frenchman entered Wimbledon with a record of 2-14 in 2026. One would not expect him to do well at the major either, but grass courts have a way of changing the presumed narrative of any player or match, just as top seeds have already learned at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
