The men’s singles tournament at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships will soon get underway, and defending champion Jannik Sinner will enter as the heavy favourite.
Sinner captured his first title at the All England Club last year, beating his rival Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
His path to a second consecutive Wimbledon crown was made slightly more straightforward when Alcaraz withdrew from this year’s edition of the tournament due to a wrist injury.
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Of course, Novak Djokovic remains a threat to Sinner, and the Serb is in his half of the draw, meaning the two could clash in the semifinals.
Which creates an interesting scenario in the bottom half of the draw, where there could be an unlikely appearance in a major final for one star.
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Alexander Zverev is the biggest name in the bottom half and is projected, by seeding, to make the quarterfinals, along with Alex de Minaur, Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz.
But Zverev has struggled to find success on grass over the years, and has never made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Meanwhile, De Minaur is enduring a disappointing season on the ATP Tour, with just two quarterfinal appearances across big tournaments (Grand Slams and ATP Masters 1000s).
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A golden opportunity now presents itself for American tennis at the Championships, and compatriots Shelton and Fritz are the best hopes for the US.
Predicting who will come out of the bottom half of the draw to challenge Sinner on an episode of the ‘Served‘ podcast, Roddick picked Fritz.
Despite Fritz’s ability to thrive on grass, Roddick still picked Sinner to win the Wimbledon title.
Taylor Fritz’s last appearance in a Grand Slam final
Fritz is one of three Americans who have managed to reach a major final since Roddick’s 2003 US Open triumph, which was the last time a US men’s player won a Grand Slam.
The other two are Roddick himself, on four separate occasions, and Andre Agassi, who made the 2005 US Open final.
Fritz’s sole appearance in a major final came at the 2024 US Open, where he beat Zverev, Casper Ruud and countryman Frances Tiafoe en route to the championship match.
His final opponent came in the form of Sinner, who was seeking his second Grand Slam title at the time.
Despite Fritz’s best efforts, Sinner capped off his dominant campaign by winning the match in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.
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