World number four Alexander Zverev will clash rackets with Roberto Carballes Baena in the first round of Wimbledon on Tuesday.
The victors of this contest will square off against either Marcos Giron or Henry Searle, both of whom are unseeded, in the second round.
Match preview
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Just over six weeks on from winning the Rome Masters and around four weeks on from his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final, Alexander Zverev is in buoyant mood ahead of his eighth Wimbledon tournament and believes that now is the time when he can truly challenge for glory.
"I feel good, of course, the last tournaments were very positive with the title in Rome," Zverev told reporters. "Of course, losing in the final at Roland Garros was disappointing, even though it was a good tournament.
"I hope I can prove that in this Wimbledon. I've talked to my brother about it, it's the first time I feel like I'm here to compete, maybe to win the title. In previous years I didn't feel that way, I didn't feel capable."
Zverev has never progressed beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon, losing in the third round to Matteo Berrettini 12 months ago, and he has only competed in one grass court tournament this year, reaching the semi-finals of the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle at the end of last month.
Nevertheless, the 27-year-old German, eyeing up progression to a third major career final, has racked up an impressive 6905 ranking points since the turn of the year - only bettered by three players - and he will be confident of success against Tuesday's opponent who is ranked 60 places below him in the current standings.
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Roberto Carballes Baena has experienced a mixed 2024 campaign so far, winning 16 and losing 15 times in all tournaments, and his standout moment of the year was reaching the final of the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech in April, although he was unable to defend his title and lost in straight sets to Matteo Berrettini.
The 31-year-old began his season on grass at the Mallorca Championships just over a week ago, following up a three-set win (including two tie-breaks) against fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta with a straight sets loss to Gael Monfils in the second round.
Carballes Baena is now gearing up for his sixth appearance at Wimbledon and will be hoping to better his best-ever result at the tournament which was achieved last year when he advanced to the second round, losing out to Holger Rune in three sets.
The Spaniard had previously been eliminated in the first round on four occasions as well as twice in the first qualifying round, while he has never won a grass court contest against an opponent ranked in the top 10, so he must be on top of his game if he wishes to pull off an upset in round one.
Head To Head
Madrid Masters (2023) - Second Round: Zverev wins 6-7(7) 7-5 6-0
The only previous meeting between Carballes Baena and Zverev took place on clay at the Madrid Masters when the latter came from a set down to claim victory and advance to the third round in April last year.
Zverev lost a tight first set in a tie-breaker, during which he held a set point and was then level at 5-5 in the second set, but the German went on to win eight consecutive games to complete the victory in three hours and 25 minutes.
We say: Zverev to win in three sets
Zverev cannot take Carballes Baena lightly, but he will be regarded as the firm favourite to progress from the first round. Boasting a strong first serve and rock-solid backhand, we fancy the German to come out on top in straight sets.
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