The business end of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships is quickly approaching, and the bottom half of the men’s draw remains wide open.
With Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic both in the top half, a golden opportunity has presented itself for several stars.
Alexander Zverev is the highest seed in that section, and the German has enjoyed a strong campaign so far at Wimbledon; the one major he has struggled at over the years.
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Zverev’s deepest run in SW19 is a fourth-round finish, and he will have to battle past 13th seed Jiri Lehecka to surpass his personal best.
After winning his first major crown at the French Open, the 29-year-old is looking to add to his tally at Wimbledon, but former British player Greg Rusedski does not think he is the favourite to come out of the bottom half of the draw.
Greg Rusedski picks Taylor Fritz to reach the Wimbledon final
Taylor Fritz, seeded sixth at Wimbledon, is perhaps the biggest threat to Zverev’s hopes of reaching a second consecutive major final.
On his podcast, ‘Off Court with Greg‘, Rusedski said: “Taylor Fritz has played great on the grass this year. 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.
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“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.”
Alexander Zverev ‘doesn’t care’ about potential final opponent
Should he reach the final, Zverev will likely have to face either Djokovic or Sinner, both of whom he has a losing record against.
Asked who he thinks Zverev would rather take on in the title bout, Rusedski said: “He doesn’t really care.
“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.”
Both Zverev and Fritz have dropped just one set so far through the first three rounds of their Wimbledon campaigns.
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