Alexander Zverev is showing no hangover effects after capturing his first Grand Slam event.
The French Open champion, who typically struggles on the grass at Wimbledon, reached the fourth round with a convincing 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over Marcos Giron on Saturday at the All England Club.
The German served brilliantly, smashing 17 aces to only three double faults and won 54-of-70 first-serve points.
After a routine first set, neither player flinched in the second, leading to a tiebreaker. Zverev sprinted to a 6-2 lead in the breaker, but Giron held off three set points before succumbing on the No. 2 seed’s forehand volley winner.
“He (Giron) is somebody who plays fantastic on grass and he shows it every time he steps out on the surface,” Zverev said. “He has won tour-level events on the surface, I knew that I had to be 100% ready from the first point onwards and I am very happy to be through in straight sets.”
Zverev has never been past the fourth round in London. To do so, he will have to take out No. 13 seed Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic, who edged Spain’s Jaume Munar, 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Lehecka blasted 52 winners in the four-set win and staved off six of Munar’s eight break-point opportunities.
Zverev is 1-1 versus Lehecka, but the two have not played since 2023.
No. 6 seed Taylor Fritz started slowly before notching a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory over Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego. Both players hit 39 winners.
Fritz will face No. 10 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in the fourth round. Bublik had a stunning 48-12 edge in aces while producing a 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (11), 4-6, 6-3 victory over No. 17 Frances Tiafoe. Bublik had 83 winners against 50 unforced errors and saved nine set points before winning the third set.
“We had a great battle,” Bublik said. “This match will stay with me forever.”
Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov had 46 winners against 25 unforced errors while registering a 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3 over Matteo Berrettini of Italy. Berrettini had 49 winners and 43 unforced errors.
Dimitrov will face Brit wild card Arthur Fery, who outlasted Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 2-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5). This marks the first time the London-born Fery has reached the round of 16 at a major and he also has cracked the Top 100 in the live rankings, now sitting at No. 91.
“It’s a really special moment. I can’t really fully process it yet,” Fery said. “When I’m playing this well and having these kind of results, it was only a matter of time till I broke the Top 100. It’s still a significant milestone. As I said, yeah, doing it here is incredibly special for me. It’s my home tournament. It’s where I grew up. So yeah, it’s very special.”
In another quadrant of the bracket, fifth-seeded Alex de Minaur outlasted Zachary Svajda 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 and No. 9 Flavio Cobolli of Italy rallied to knock off Russia’s Karen Khachanov 0-6, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-2.
The Australian took advantage of Svajda’s second serve, winning 35 of 50 points and converting eight break points. He also was efficient at the net, winning 22 of 27 while moving forward in the two-hour, 40-minute match.
“I feel great. I’m happy to get through the first week. This is the first goal of the tournament, obviously,” said de Minaur. “It’s getting down to crunch time, I guess. I’m happy with the way I have been playing. The body is feeling great. I thought today was probably the best I moved around the court.”
Cobolli, the French Open runner-up to Zverev, won only nine points in the first set. But after splitting a pair of tiebreakers, he flipped the early script and recorded 22 winners versus only 10 unforced errors.
Cobolli has dropped both matches against de Minaur, but the two hard-hitting baseliners have not played since 2024.
–Field Level Media
