Rinderknech Upsets Zverev in Wimbledon First Round!

Arthur Rinderknech scored the biggest win of his career by defeating world No. 3 Alexander Zverev in five sets (7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4) in the first round of Wimbledon.

In strong form since the start of the grass-court season, including a quarterfinal run at Queen’s where he was stopped by Carlos Alcaraz, Rinderknech drew Zverev for his opening match at Wimbledon. A tough but not impossible draw for the Frenchman, given the German’s shaky season.

The match began yesterday on Centre Court at 9 p.m. local time, after a wild day that saw Alcaraz and Fognini battle through five sets. Rinderknech, tenacious, clinched the first set after a controlled tie-break (7-3).

He came close to taking a two-set lead, holding two set points in another tie-break, but Zverev, solid on serve, turned things around to win it 10-8.

Paused by the curfew, the two players resumed play on Tuesday. Rinderknech, full of confidence, took charge again by winning the third set 6-3. The fourth set, much like the first two, went to a tie-break.

The Frenchman led 4-1 but tightened under pressure, allowing Zverev to win six of the next seven points and force a fifth set.

However, thanks to 79 winners and 79% of points won behind his first serve, Rinderknech never gave up, not conceding a single break throughout the match. Zverev, on the other hand, cracked at 1-1 in the decider, despite leading 40-0 in that game. It was enough for Rinderknech to seal the victory after 4 hours and 40 minutes of play.

With Lucas Pouille by his side during this fortnight, Rinderknech will look to build on this milestone win in the second round against Cristian Garin.