First-round bloodbath at Wimbledon: Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune lead record-breaking seed collapse

Wimbledon's first round is complete, and it's been a bloodbath for the male seeded players! A whopping 12 of the 32 seeds are already out of the tournament, blowing wide open various sections of the draw and paving the way for some unexpected runs this year. The fallen include three top-10 players: Alexander Zverev, Lorenzo Musetti, and Holger Rune.

We haven't seen this many first-round exits since the 2004 Australian Open, where 13 seeds crashed out in their opening matches. Some of the big names who said an early goodbye to the tournament include former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini, and former World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The top section of the draw, led by Jannik Sinner, is quickly opening up for the World No. 1. His first seeded opponent, Denis Shapovalov (27th), a potential third-round clash, was surprisingly upset by Argentina's Mariano Navone in his debut. Sinner could now advance to the fourth round without facing any top-40 player.

Adding to Sinner's fortune, the 7th seed Lorenzo Musetti also exited early, removing a major obstacle in a potential quarter-final showdown. Musetti, a semi-finalist in 2024, looked out of sorts against qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Perhaps the least affected section of the draw by early exits, though it still saw a couple of interesting names depart quickly. Alexander Bublik couldn't maintain his impeccable form from the Halle Open, where he defeated rivals like Sinner and Medvedev en route to the title. He surprisingly fell in the first round to Spain's Jaume Munar, clearing the path for Jack Draper, who was a potential third-round opponent. Like Sinner, Draper could reach the fourth round without facing any top-50 player.

The exit of Alex Michelsen (30th seed) also benefits Novak Djokovic. The American lost in an epic five-set tie-break to Miomir Kecmanovic.

This is probably the most impacted section of the draw, led by World No. 3 Alexander Zverev, who shockingly lost to Arthur Rinderknech in five sets. This marks his first Grand Slam opener defeat since Wimbledon 2019, and it deepens a shaky few months for the German. On the same side, Matteo Berrettini (32nd) also fell in five sets to Poland's Kamil Majchrzak, along with the exit of Francisco Cerundolo (16th) against Nuno Borges. This heavily benefits Karen Khachanov (17th), who is now the only seeded player in his part of the draw and could reach the quarter-finals without any high-profile names in his way.

Players like Billy Harris, Nuno Borges, Arthur Rinderknech, and Cristian Garin saw the favorites in their section fall, and they can now dream of a favorable draw. Even whoever survives from this part of the draw saw several major obstacles tumble: Daniil Medvedev and Alexei Popyrin also made early exits. Potentially, Taylor Fritz could reach the semi-finals without facing any top-15 player.

One of the big surprises on Monday was the exit of Holger Rune (8th) at the hands of Nicolas Jarry. The Chilean had perhaps his best performance of the last year, coming from qualifying to reach the second round of the tournament. Jarry now has a chance to go deep after Tallon Griekspoor's elimination on the same side of the draw, although Joao Fonseca and Jenson Brooksby are still in his path.

The last seeded player to be eliminated early was none other than Stefanos Tsitsipas (24th), who cited physical problems and retired while facing qualifier Valentin Royer. Regardless, it was a negative showing for the Greek, who retired with the score at 3-6, 2-6, and only has one win in his last four Grand Slam appearances.

• Alexander Zverev [3] vs Arthur Rinderknech: 6-7(3), 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4

• Holger Rune [8] vs Nicolas Jarry: 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 4-6

• Daniil Medvedev [9] vs Benjamin Bonzi: 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-7(3), 2-6

• Lorenzo Musetti [7] vs Nikoloz Basilashvili: 2-6, 6-4, 5-7, 1-6

• Francisco Cerundolo [16] vs Nuno Borges: 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(5), 0-6

• Alexei Popyrin [20] vs Arthur Fery: 4-6, 1-6, 6-4, 4-6

• Stefanos Tsitsipas [24] vs Valentin Royer: 3-6, 2-6 (Tsitsipas se retiró)

• Denis Shapovalov [27] vs Mariano Navone: 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 4-6

• Alexander Bublik [28] vs Jaume Munar: 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(5), 2-6

• Alex Michelsen [30] vs Miomir Kecmanovic: 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(7), 3-6

• Tallon Griekspoor [31] vs Luciano Darderi: 6-7(3), 6-1, 7-6(2), 3-6, 1-6

• Matteo Berrettini [32] vs Kamil Majchrzak: 6-4, 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 3-6