Alexander Zverev suffered his earliest exit from a Grand Slam tournament since 2019. The German third seed was unexpectedly defeated by France’s Arthur Rinderknech in the first round of Wimbledon on Tuesday.
Zverev, a three-time finalist in Grand Slam events, suffered a surprising loss with scores of 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (8/10), 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 against the world number 72 in a lengthy match that lasted four hours and 40 minutes on Centre Court.
He is the highest-ranked player to have lost in this year’s men’s singles at the All England Club.
Having reached the Australian Open final in January, Zverev faced another disappointing Wimbledon result in a match that began on Monday evening.
The score was tied at one set apiece when the game was interrupted due to Wimbledon’s 2200 GMT curfew.
However, once play resumed in the sweltering London heat on Tuesday afternoon, Rinderknech took advantage of the situation. The Frenchman unleashed 25 aces, and while Zverev matched him with 31 of his own, it was insufficient to avoid a humiliating defeat.
During nine attempts at the grass-court major, Zverev has not progressed past the fourth round at Wimbledon.
He had previously advanced to at least the second round in his last 20 Grand Slam competitions.
