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Familiar foes Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz remain on a collision course for the Wimbledon quarterfinals, but they need fourth-round wins to make that matchup happen. They will face Jiri Lehecka and Alexander Bublik, respectively, on Monday.
(13) Jiri Lehecka vs. (2) Alexander Zverev
Zverev and Lehecka will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they clash in the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Monday. They split their two previous encounters; Lehecka prevailed 6-4, 6-2 at the 2023 United Cup before Zverev got the job done 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the 2023 Dubai ATP 500.
Although Lehecka has a ton of talent, he has rarely put it all together throughout the course of his career — not too much unlike fellow Czech Tomas Machac. The world No. 14 has reached two Grand Slam quarterfinals but only one since the 2023 Australian Open, and he almost always struggles against higher-ranked opponents. Shockingly, Zverev has never advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. In other words, something has to give on Monday. This is a winnable match for Lehecka — but the question is if he believes it. He might not.
Pick: Zverev in 4
(6) Taylor Fritz vs. (10) Alexander Bublik
Fritz has without question been one of the best grass-court players in the world over the past five seasons or so, to the extent that a Wimbledon title is well within the realm of possibly — if not this year then within the next few years. The world No. 7 is aiming to reach his fourth quarterfinal in his last five trips to the All-England Club, a stretch that also features a semifinal performance in 2025. Fritz is also a four-time champion of the Eastbourne event and he recently finished runner-up in both Stuttgart and Halle. So far this fortnight he has disposed of Dusan Lajovic, Patrick Kypson, and Lorenzo Sonego — dropping just one set to Sonego along the way.
Up next for the 28-year-old on Monday is a ninth showdown against Bublik. Their head-to-head series is all tied up at four wins apiece, but that hardly tells the real story. Fritz has won both of their previous grass-court meetings, which have come during a current stretch in which he is 4-1 in his last five overall against Bublik. Three of the American’s four win have been straight-set routs, including a 6-3, 6-2 scoreline on the lawns of Eastbourne in 2022 and 6-4, 6-4 just a few weeks ago in a grass-court semifinal at the Stuttgart ATP 250. Whereas the sixth seed has mostly cruised so far at the All-England Club, Bublik has already endured two five-setters — including a four-hour and eight-minute thriller against Frances Tiafoe on Saturday. The 11th-ranked Kazakh has never been past round four in SW19 and there is no reason to think that anything will change in 2026.
Pick: Fritz in 3
