July 2, 2025 - Despite finishing as runner-up in three other Grand Slams, Alexander Zverev has never had a good record at Wimbledon. The 28-year-old German star has never gone beyond the fourth round in this grass-court Grand Slam.

Only Zverev knows how confident he was coming to London this time. But he will want to forget what happened today. Zverev was knocked out in the first round of the Men’s Singles after losing to France’s Arthur Rinderknech!

In a marathon match lasting 4 hours and 40 minutes at the All England Club’s Centre Court, world number 72 Rinderknech defeated third seed Zverev 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (8/10), 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4. This is the first time since 2019 that Zverev has made such an early exit from a Grand Slam.

Zverev is the fourth top-10 player to crash out in the first round of this year’s Wimbledon – and the highest-ranked among them. He joins Lorenzo Musetti, Holger Rune, and Daniil Medvedev, who have also exited early.

Rinderknech, ranked 72 in the world, was earlier best known for retiring from a match he was winning at last year’s French Open after injuring his foot by kicking an advertising board.

Jannik Sinner, who is currently ranked No. 1 in tennis, did not give his opponent any chance. The Italian star defeated his fellow countryman Luca Nardi 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 in just 1 hour and 48 minutes to reach the second round.

Sinner hit nine aces and a total of 28 winners, losing only 12 points on his own serve. The three-time Grand Slam winner has reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon only once, in 2023. But this time, everything seems to be building toward a big clash with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz next Sunday — a rematch of their thrilling five-set French Open final last month, which was won by the Spaniard.

While Alcaraz had to fight hard for a five-set, four-and-a-half-hour win over 38-year-old Fabio Fognini on Monday, Sinner made quick work of his match and easily reached round two, where he will face Australian Aleksandar Vukic.

On the other hand, third seed Jessica Pegula faced a major upset in the Women's Singles. The American star lost 6-2, 6-3 to Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto. Pegula, who was the runner-up at the 2024 US Open, lost to world number 116. Earlier, Russian star Daniil Medvedev had retired from the tournament yesterday.