Alexander Zverev survives Blockx scare and confronts his Wimbledon hoodoo

Alexander Zverev avoided an embarrassing early exit on his Wimbledon return, the newly crowned French Open champion surviving a stern test from Belgian debutant Alexander Blockx to win 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-6(5), 7-6(0) on Centre Court.

The second seed had been in real danger of becoming the first reigning Roland-Garros champion since Rafael Nadal in 2013 to lose in the Wimbledon first round, pushed to three tiebreaks by the fearless 21-year-old. But Zverev’s serve carried him home — 21 aces in all — and he produced a flawless 7-0 tiebreak to settle the fourth set. “It was a similar match to last year, but for me with a better outcome,” he said, having lost in the first round here twelve months ago.

Disarmingly, Zverev confronted the central paradox of his career: a multiple major finalist, now a champion, who has never gone beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon in nine appearances. Asked about a draw that has opened up on his side, with Ben Shelton out and Jack Draper withdrawn, he refused to engage with the names beyond him. “The draw doesn’t really matter, because I have played a top-10 opponent one time in my career here, which was Milos Raonic, in 2017,” he said. “All the other years, I have lost to players outside the top 10.”

Maybe the names of Jannik and Novak are on the other side of the draw, but for me that doesn’t really matter

The honesty was striking. “So it’s really about me, getting through my matches,” he said. “Maybe the names of Jannik and Novak are on the other side of the draw, but for me that doesn’t really matter, because historically I have not gotten to them. It’s about focusing on the matches ahead of me to get to those names.”

His Paris breakthrough, he suggested, offered a psychological platform. “Roland-Garros in the back of your head really helps,” he said, “but I do believe I can play well on this surface when I get through some matches.” He set his sights high. “I hope I will have the best result of my career.”

There was a lighter moment when Zverev was asked which surface he would choose for the most important match of his life. “I would choose a fast hard court,” he said, before weighing his great rivals. “If it’s Carlos, definitely fast hard court. If it’s Jannik, maybe clay, even though he beat me twice this year.” Zverev, who could rise to world No. 2 with a deep run, next faces France’s Valentin Royer.