Wimbledon 2025: Arthur Rinderknech Sends Alexander Zverev Packing In Five-Set Stunner

Alexander Zverev's Wimbledon woes continued as he was dumped out in the first round of the 2025 Championships by Arthur Rinderknech.

Zverev had never gone beyond the fourth round of Wimbledon in eight previous attempts and had fallen before that stage on five occasions.

The third seed suffered another exit when his opening match resumed at one set apiece on Tuesday, having been paused due to the tournament's curfew the previous night, as Rinderknech triumphed 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (8-10) 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-4.

Zverev struggled to control his returns as he failed to take a single break off Rinderknech, who cruised through the third set and found himself on the brink of victory in the fourth.

The Frenchman was two points from victory at 5-3 up in a tie-break, but a limp forehand brought Zverev back into it and the German reeled off three more points in a row to level the contest.

However, Zverev was broken from 40-0 up early in the decider following a couple of huge returns from Rinderknech, and the German could not find a way to hit back as his opponent won 82% of first-serve points.

Rinderknech saw two match points saved, but a pinpoint backhand ensured it was third time lucky as he clinched a shock success.

In his on-court interview, Rinderknech said: "I don't even know where to start! I'll start with the crowd, I'm feeling the same way as you guys!

"My legs are still shaking, I can't do it anymore and I'm so happy it's finished. I slept about six hours last night, but what a moment, such strong emotions."

Fifth seed Taylor Fritz was also forced to wait to complete his first-round match against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, having fought back from two sets down to level the contest before Monday's curfew.

The American took to Instagram to blame Mpetshi Perricard for the match not being finished on Monday, and Fritz channelled his frustrations effectively upon returning to No.1 Court.

He completed his comeback by taking the final set 6-4, with Mpetshi Perricard missing four first serves and committing a double fault when serving to stay in the match at 5-4.

"I think it would have been easy for me to get frustrated about not being able to play last night," Fritz said. "I felt confident going into the fifth set if it was last night or today."

Fritz will face Canada's Gabriel Diallo in the second round, while Rinderknech will take on Chile's Cristian Garin.

Data Debrief: Rinderknech fells another giant

Zverev's defeat made him the fourth top-10 seed to fall at the first hurdle of this year's Championships, after Lorenzo Musetti, Holger Rune and Daniil Medvedev.

It is just the third grand slam to see as many as four top-10 seeds exit in the first round this century, after Roland-Garros in 2008 and the US Open in 2019.

Meanwhile, since the ATP rankings were first published in 1973, Zverev (16) has played the most five-set matches of any ATP top-10 player in the first week of grand slam events.

He was unable to stay the course on this occasion, exiting a major in the first round for the first time since 2019, when he also suffered an early loss at SW19.