How tough will it be for Sascha in the second round?
While the 2026 World Cup didn’t feature a showdown between Germany and France, Wimbledon is at least treating us to a German-French matchup. In principle, the bet on Valentin Royer to defeat Alexander Zverev should pay off, as the Hamburg native—seeded second—faces the No. 75 player in the ATP world rankings. However, the London grass has never been the best surface for Sascha, who also wobbled at times during his 3-1 opening-round victory over the talented Alexander Blockx.
Admittedly, Valentin Royer is by no means a heavyweight. The Frenchman, who feels most comfortable on clay—where he has already won three Challenger titles—nevertheless fought back impressively in the first round, defeating local hero Harry Wendelken 3-1 after trailing in the first set.
Although the 25-year-old is set to play only his fifth singles match ever on grass, he has recorded two wins in his four previous matches—both, incidentally, at Wimbledon. This makes the matchup between Valentin Royer and Alexander Zverev all the more intriguing, with the Frenchman potentially taking at least one set from the newly crowned French Open champion.
One thing is clear: Sascha is capable of deciding the match on his own, thanks to his extremely powerful serve. Against Alexander Blockx, the Hamburg native also hit 21 aces and won 84 percent of his first-serve points. However, that match also revealed that Sascha sometimes struggles on grass when his opponent plays with powerful, flat shots—a lesson that Valentin Royer has surely taken to heart as well.
Valentin Royer – Alexander Zverev Head-to-Head Record
Head-to-Head: 0:1
Last fall, the two players faced off for the first time at the Shanghai Masters on an indoor hard court. In a very close match, Alexander Zverev won in straight sets, 2:0 (6:4, 6:4). Now they’re set to meet again on grass.
Valentin Royer – Alexander Zverev Prediction
On paper, Alexander Zverev is, of course, the overwhelming favorite going into the match, but after his nerve-wracking opener against Alexander Blockx, he’ll need to show that he can play with greater tactical consistency.
For his French challenger, on the other hand, this is a huge opportunity to prove himself on the biggest stage possible at Church Road against a top-three player and Grand Slam champion, while the German, as the No. 2 seed following his French Open title, is also under pressure, in a sense, to follow that up with as deep a run as possible at Wimbledon—where he has never advanced past the round of 16.
While we consider an early exit for the German highly unlikely, it’s definitely possible that Sascha will drop a set in the second round as well, which is why we’re betting that the Frenchman will win at least one set.
For the underdog to win more than 0.5 sets, Betano is offering odds of 2.22 on Valentin Royer vs. Alexander Zverev, but we’re still playing it very cautiously with three out of ten units.
