Will the struggling Styrian clear the first hurdle?

Sebastian Ofner has been struggling with injuries for quite some time now. Just last week in Mallorca, the Styrian had to throw in the towel once again in the first round of qualifying. He has now been handed a fairly manageable draw in the first round of the Wimbledon Championships in the form of Hamad Medjedovic. Nevertheless, when betting on Sebastian Ofner against Hamad Medjedovic, it must be taken into account that the Austrian’s heel could potentially be a factor again.

Ofner’s coach Steve Rettl recently stated that his protégé, who has slipped to 165th in the ATP world rankings, is fit for the important grass court tournament in London. This makes the prediction for Sebastian Ofner against Hamad Medjedovic all the more interesting, as the Styrian is expected to make it through to the next round, especially since his young challenger from Serbia has never won a singles match in the men’s singles at Wimbledon before.

In fact, 21-year-old Hamad Medjedovic has not appeared very often at Grand Slam level. At this year’s French Open, he won his first two singles matches ever in men’s singles at a Grand Slam. However, in his only successful qualification for the Wimbledon Championships to date, he was knocked out in the first round 1-3 by Christopher O’Connell – partly because the Serbian prefers clay courts.

Sebastian Ofner – Statistics & current form

29-year-old Austrian Sebastian Ofner has been struggling with heel problems for some time, which have forced him to take several breaks and undergo two operations. Just as things were gradually looking up again, the man from Bruck an der Mur suffered another setback in the final preparatory tournament for the Wimbledon Championships. In the first qualifying round of the Mallorca Championships, where he reached the final of an ATP Tour tournament for the first time a year ago, he had to throw in the towel against Mariano Navone (ATP 91) with the score at 1:1 due to renewed heel problems.

Austrian fans are understandably concerned that the Styrian will not be at 100 percent for the venerable grass court Grand Slam at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which is not a good prerequisite for beating a physically strong opponent who is only 21 years old on the energy-sapping grass in high temperatures.

Sebastian Ofner has been waiting eight years for a Wimbledon victory

Consequently, the odds are against Sebastian Ofner against Hamad Medjedovic, who has slipped to 165th in the ATP world rankings following injury-enforced breaks and has been granted a protected ranking to compete in the Wimbledon Championships. At Bet-at-home, where a Bet-at-home voucher code can currently be used, the odds for a victory for the Styrian are 2.40.

It should be noted that the 29-year-old is certainly no stranger to grass courts, even though he has not won a single men’s singles match since his Grand Slam debut in 2017, when he reached the third round at Wimbledon at his first attempt. A year ago, the Styrian lost a five-set thriller to Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic 2-3 in the opening round – a result that cannot be ruled out this time around either.

Hamad Medjedovic – Statistics & current form

21-year-old Serbian Hamad Medjedovic continues to work meticulously to establish himself on the ATP Tour. The overall winner of the Next Generation ATP Finals 2023 reached the final of an ATP Tour tournament for the first time in his young career last November in Belgrade, but lost there, as he did in the final of the ATP Marseille 2025 in February this year.

Nevertheless, the man from Novi Pazar made up ground in the ATP world rankings with these two appearances in finals, as well as with his entry into the third round of the French Open 2025, when he won his first two matches in men’s singles at Grand Slam tournaments. The Serbian is currently ranked 68th, which means he has avoided having to go through qualifying at Wimbledon, where he was knocked out in the second round a year ago.

Hamad Medjedovic makes a small mark in Mallorca

Last week, the 21-year-old also played a convincing preparatory tournament in Mallorca, where he reached the quarterfinals after two victories over Nishesh Basavareddy (ATP 99) and Roman Safiullin (ATP 75). There, he even took the first set off Félix Auger-Aliassime (ATP 25), but ultimately had to admit defeat 1-2. Nevertheless, based on these performances, Sebastian Ofner’s tip for victory against Hamad Medjedovic is now looking good, especially as the world number 68 clearly has the physical advantage.

However, a possible victory will depend on how well the experienced clay court and return player performs on the fast surface at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and how confidently he plays his own service games. If Sebastian Ofner falters, the Serb’s strong backhand certainly has the potential to earn the necessary breaks on grass.

Sebastian Ofner – Hamad Medjedovic Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

Head to head: 0:0

There has never been a ranked singles match between these two players. Therefore, there is no head-to-head data available that could influence our prediction for Sebastian Ofner against Hamad Medjedovic.

Sebastian Ofner – Hamad Medjedovic Tip

Although the betting odds from the top bookmakers favor the young Serb Sebastian Ofner against Hamad Medjedovic, this is certainly due to the Austrian’s heel problems. However, if the Styrian is really as fit for Wimbledon as his coach recently announced, the 29-year-old should actually be the clear favorite. After all, the grass suits Sebastian Ofner’s game much better, while 21-year-old Hamad Medjedovic has only really performed at the highest level on clay courts so far.

However, if the match goes to a certain distance, the young Serb’s physical condition speaks in his favor, which is why we think it’s best to bet on Sebastian Ofner against Hamad Medjedovic as a handicap bet. We are betting +1.5 sets on the Austrian, which would also cover a 2:3 defeat.