Alexander Zverev has reached the Wimbledon final for his first time in his ATP Men’s singles career. This comes just a month after his first ever major win at Roland Garros. Zverev, now 29 years of age, has waited patiently for his big moment ever since joining the tour in 2013. With many greats in front of him, preventing him from reaching the top;  Zverev has defied all odds and conquered the clay court. Before this unpredictable run at the 2026 French Open, Zverev had reached every other major final once before. He first achieved this at the 2020 US Open, before losing to Dominic Thiem—Thiem’s only major win. It wasn’t until 2025, where Zverev reached his second major final at the Australian Open, losing to Jannik Sinner. Fast forward to May, when Alexander Zverev captured his first major title at the French Open, defeating Flavio Cobolli in five sets.

At the 2026 French Open, Zverev entered the tournament as the second seed overall after Carlos Alcaraz suffered a wrist injury during the Barcelona Open, forcing him to miss both Roland Garros and Wimbledon—his first major absences since the 2023 Australian Open. Before the tournament began, many journalists and analysts labeled Zverev as the "best player to never win a major." Given his résumé and previous runner-up finishes, it was a fair assessment.

However, the French Open quickly became one of the most unpredictable tournaments in recent memory. At just 24 years old, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner was stunned in the second round by Argentina's Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, who entered the tournament ranked just outside the world's top 40. The upset sent shockwaves through the tennis world. Sinner, already a four-time major champion since 2024, had established himself as one of the sport's premier stars. Suddenly, the path to the title looked far more open.

Another obstacle disappeared when Novak Djokovic, owner of a record 24 major titles, fell to João Fonseca in the third round. With both Sinner and Djokovic out of the picture, many expected Zverev to seize the opportunity. Yet the skepticism surrounding him never truly disappeared. Even with elite players such as Felix Auger-Aliassime, Andrey Rublev, and Casper Ruud still remaining in the draw, many writers continued to favor them over the German.

That perception has followed Zverev throughout much of his career. Time and again, he has found himself playing in front of crowds cheering for his opponent rather than for him. In many ways, his rivalry with Sinner resembles Patrick Mahomes versus Josh Allen, a consistently elite player trying to break through against a generational talent. Before finally winning at Roland Garros, Zverev had spent years chasing the moment that many believed might never come.

Despite all the negativity towards Zverev, he managed to take down Rafael Jodar in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in three sets. In the semifinals, he took down Jakub Mensik from Czechia in four sets. And in the 2026 French Open final, he took down the Italian in five sets.

Now in July, all eyes turn to Wimbledon. Could Zverev make another deep run, especially with Wimbledon expected to be far less chaotic than Roland Garros?  While Djokovic, Sinner, and many other current stars in the ATP Tour are healthy this time around, Zverev still has his status as the number 2 in this tournament, as aforementioned, Alcaraz is out due to a wrist injury. 

In the quarterfinals, Zverev took down the American, Taylor Fritz in three straight sets. This was no easy feat for Zverev as Fritz is also a fellow finalist at a major in 2024 at the US Open. In the semifinals, Zverev faced newcomer Arthur Fery , who quickly jumped from 114 in the world to the top 35. An incredible accomplishment, Fery looks to be a new face of the sport. While in the first set, Fery managed to take Zverev to a tiebreaker and looked to be able to keep up against the German. After all, Fery took down Cobolli in the quarterfinals, who lost to Zverev in the French Open as mentioned earlier. Arthur Fery, from Great Britain, had the entire court rooting for him. Zverev knew he had a challenge. During the second set, Zverev managed to pull away from Fery and reach his first Wimbledon final against Jannik Sinner. 

Jannik Sinner vs. Alexander Zverev, the matchup that people wanted. The tournament’s number one vs the number two. Sinner, having five majors in a three year span, is the clear favorite over Zverev. That is not surprising, as he won the tournament last year. Despite this, I believe Zverev has a real shot here at making it somewhat close. The confidence he gained from winning Roland Garros appears to have carried into Wimbledon. After waiting more than a decade for his first major title, Zverev finally looks like a player who believes he belongs among the sport's elite. This story reminds me a lot of Rory McIlroy’s journey to win the Masters. Rory, one of the PGA’s best stories—and golf in general—waited fourteen years for his green jacket. After securing the win in 2025, he went back-to-back to win his second jacket in 2026. Nobody dreamed of that happening after such a long wait. The ideology behind this is to never give up. One day, you may be telling yourself that you aren’t one of the best, or you don’t belong in the category of the “greatest”. If you believe in yourself and trust that your hard work will eventually pay off, you may find yourself holding not one, but two championships you never thought possible. Suddenly, the question changes from, "Am I one of the best?" to, "Am I the greatest to ever do it?"