Alexander Zverev snubbed as tennis expert names favourite to reach Wimbledon final
Greg Rusedski has named Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz as the two Wimbledon contenders going ‘under the radar’, giving the American the edge to reach his maiden final at the All England Club.
Five weeks ago, Zverev captured his first Grand Slam title at this year’s French Open, defeating Flavio Cobolli in a five-set final.
The German had lost his previous three Grand Slam finals but arrived at Wimbledon full of confidence.
So far, Zverev has dropped just one set across his opening three matches, recording victories over Alexander Blockx, Valentin Royer, and Marcos Giron.
Meanwhile, Fritz reached back-to-back grass-court finals in Stuttgart and Halle, finishing runner-up at both events.
The world No 7 comfortably defeated Dusan Lajovic and Patrick Kypson in the opening two rounds before edging past Lorenzo Sonego in four sets.
Former British No 1 Rusedski believes Fritz and Zverev have been the standout performers in the bottom half of the draw after three rounds.
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“Taylor Fritz has played great on the grass this year,” analysed the Brit on his Off Court with Greg podcast.
“Finals of Stuttgart, won in Halle. He always liked playing at the Championships. Always gets a deep run there.
“And he feels like it’s a real opportunity. Ben Shelton dropped out of the section. De Minaur came through.
“But Zverev and Fritz have been the most impressive so far. They’re kind of going under the radar because everybody’s talking about the hype of Sinner and Djokovic. But that’s the top half of the draw.
“One of those two guys will be in the final. Will it be Fritz? Will it be Zverev? We talked about it. Is it London buses? Did Zverev unlock the key in Paris?
“Does he unlock the key to get to the final? That’s the question. But Fritz has got to be the favourite on the bottom section at the moment.”
Zverev has never progressed beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon and will attempt to break that streak when he faces Czech star Jiri Lehecka.
Meanwhile, Fritz reached the semi-finals at the Championships last year, losing to Lorenzo Musetti, having also made the quarter-finals in 2022 and 2024.
The American also holds a commanding 10-5 head-to-head advantage over Zverev, winning eight of their last nine meetings.
“He doesn’t really care,” Rusedski added when asked whether the German is concerned about who he could face in a potential final.
“He’s playing with house money at the moment because of the fact that he got his first major. Next week’s supposed to be hot. We’ve talked about it. Sinner does not like the heat.
“Can he manage the hot conditions?
“If Djokovic gets to the final, who’s the crowd going to be for, Zverev or Djokovic? Most likely Djokovic because they’d want to see the 25th major. They want to see him win his eighth Wimbledon title.
“So the second week starting on Monday all of a sudden gets really, really interesting. And this is where we separate the boys from the men.
“But Zverev will be delighted. This is the best I’ve seen him play at Wimbledon. Fritz is pretty much expected, especially with the section he’s in.”
