Tennis
2026-06-30 - Alexander Blockx vs Alexander Zverev
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Tennis : Wimbledon First Round
Tuesday 30th June 2026 - Scheduled 3:30pm (British Time)
Preview
After finally getting over the line and winning a Grand Slam title when picking up the trophy in Paris at the French Open, Alexander Zverev will be hoping for a late surge in Major title victories.
He now knows he can win the biggest titles on the Tour having come so close previously, but Alexander Zverev has yet to have that kind of impact at Wimbledon.
The World Number 3 is the Number 2 Seed at this Grand Slam tournament due to the absence of Carlos Alcaraz, but it is a surprise that Alexander Zverev has reached at least the Semi Final at the other three Grand Slam events, but failed to make the Quarter Final at Wimbledon. The best runs have been reaching the Fourth Round on three occasions, but this is a player who has reached the Final in Halle a couple of times and also reached the Final in Stuttgart to suggest he is more than capable of having a big run at Wimbledon too.
Winning the French Open may inspire better from Alexander Zverev who will be facing Alexander Blockx for the third time in two months when they meet in the First Round here.
A match that was originally scheduled for Court One has been moved onto Centre Court after Jack Draper's withdrawal from the tournament and Alexander Zverev will be happy enough with his run to the Semi Final in Halle in his sole competitive preparation for this Grand Slam.
It is more than can be said for Alexander Blockx who has never played in the main draw at Wimbledon and who did not take in any warm up events ahead of this tournament in 2026.
Last year he was beaten in the Third Qualifying Round and Alexander Blockx finished with a 4-4 record on the surface, but seven of those matches were against players Ranked outside the top 100 and this match up has already proven to be a tough one for the young Belgian.
There is a concern with an ankle issue that has meant Alexander Blockx had to withdraw from the French Open before the Second Round match against Alex De Minaur and which has forced him to miss the warm up events for Wimbledon. He has already struggled to be competitive against Alexander Zverev in two clay court matches, which is where Blockx may have felt most comfortable, and it is going to be very tough to stop the French Open Champion in this opening match at Wimbledon with little competitive tennis under the belt.
In those previous two matches, Alexander Zverev has dominated behind serve, but also done enough to put together pressure for breaks in 33% of return games played.
Returning on the grass courts has proven to be much more challenging for Alexander Zverev, but he should be able to work his way into this First Round match and the comfort with what is expected from the other side of the net is also a factor in this one. As the match wears on, Alexander Zverev should be able to take more and more control and it should mean he eventually is able to push through to the Second Round behind a pretty routine win.
Prediction
It can be tough to find the breaks on grass courts and Alexander Zverev has long struggled with his return on this surface.
However, the new French Open Champion should be comfortable within this match up and that should be reflected on the scoreboard.
The Pick :
Alexander Blockx 0-3 Alexander Zverev
