Alexander Zverev not a Wimbledon favourite, says McEnroe as he puts Fritz and Shelton ahead of second seed
Jannik Sinner will be the man to beat at Wimbledon, but new French Open champion Alexander Zverev is not very high on Patrick McEnroe’s list of favourites to win this year’s grass-court Grand Slam.
With two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz out due to injury, defending champion Sinner is the overwhelming favourite to win back-to-back titles at the All England Club with many believing his shock early French Open exit was a blip.
After winning five ATP Masters 1000 titles in the build-up to Roland Garros, the Italian was expected to dominate in Paris, but he suffered an incredible second-round collapse against Juan Manual Cerundolo as he was serving for the match at 6-2, 6-3, 5-4, but went on to win only three more against with the Argentine winning 2-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1.
Sinner has opted to take an extended break after the clay-court season as he has not played any grass-court tournaments ahead of Wimbledon, but that will not impact his status as the favourite.
During a one-on-one interview with SportsBoom.com, ESPN analyst McEnroe picked Sinner for the title with 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic a distant second.
“On the men, I mean, there’s no doubt who the favourite is at Sinner,” the former world No 28 said.
“I mean, he’s the clear favourite. I would probably put Djokovic at the moment as a second favourite because I thought he, you know, played pretty well in Paris even though he lost early. But I thought he played three quality matches, so that’s going to give him confidence.”
Wimbledon News
Alexander Zverev has a serious problem heading into Wimbledon despite winning Roland Garros
With no Alcaraz in the draw, Zverev will be seeded second and the German will be high on confidence after winning his maiden Grand Slam at Roland Garros.
Zverev returned to action last week and reached the semi-final of the Halle Open, but was beaten by American Taylor Fritz.
McEnroe believes there are a few players ahead of the world No 3, including Fritz and world No 5 Ben Shelton, who won the Stuttgart Open.
“Zverev, I would not put as a favourite. I would put Fritz ahead of him. Fritz just beat him in a close match,” the American said. “I would probably put Shelton slightly ahead of him.
“Other than that, as favourites go, it’s hard to find. Felix [Auger-Aliassime], I don’t think I would put him as a favourite. He’ll be seeded high; he’s ranked high. I don’t think he’s that comfortable on grass. He’s had some decent results. It’s Sinner, and then it’s everyone else is the bottom line.”
Zverev, of course, lost in the first round at Wimbledon last year and he is yet to make it past the fourth round at SW19. Fritz was a semi-finalist in 2025 while Shelton reached the quarter-final.
