Zverev grinds through a two-day battle to break new ground at Wimbledon

Wimbledon had always been the blank space on Alexander Zverev’s Grand Slam record. Not anymore. The German No. 2 seed completed a two-day win over Czech No. 13 seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (6) on Tuesday to reach the quarterfinals at the All England Club for the first time – and, in doing so, ticked off the last major where the last eight had eluded him.

It filled the one hole in an otherwise relentless season. Wimbledon, where Zverev had never gone beyond the round of 16, was the only Grand Slam at which he had not reached the quarterfinals; now the Roland Garros champion has made the last eight at all four.

He is also the only man to reach the men’s singles quarterfinals at each of the three majors staged so far in 2026 – a mark of his consistency – in what is his third Slam quarterfinal of the year and the 18th of his career. The win took him to 14 victories from his last 15 matches.

Fritz next

The manner of it demanded patience. Holding a two-set lead when play was suspended overnight, Zverev resumed on Tuesday and briefly stumbled, surrendering the third set to a resurgent Lehecka.

But he refused to be dragged into a decider, steadying himself through a taut fourth-set tiebreak to close it out and spare himself a fifth. Lehecka, who had dropped only one set on his way past Alexei Popyrin, Alex Molcan and Jaume Munar, could not build on the third-set reprieve.

Zverev will next face American Taylor Fritz, the No. 6 seed and a semifinalist here last year, who holds the advantage in their career meetings.