Wimbledon 01.07.2025, 1st round, Tuesday, 01.07.2025, 14:00
An Austrian Wimbledon champion in 2025? Unlikely, unfortunately very unlikely. The pros in red and white know very well that they have to work hard to get through at least the first round, and even for Sebastian Ofner, that is by no means a foregone conclusion.
The 29-year-old is considered the underdog going into his opening match. And unfortunately, I quickly come to the conclusion that the bookmakers could be spot on with their assessment. I’ll tell you why in my Ofner Mededovic tip.
Sebastian Ofner and Wimbledon – it’s a very special story. When the Austrian played here for the first time eight years ago, he came through qualifying to reach the third round, where he lost in straight sets to Alexander Zverev. It would be 2023 before Ofner was allowed to step onto the hallowed turf again.
He lost in the first round to Jiri Lehecka, and in 2024 he suffered a 5-set defeat, also in the first round, against Aleksandar Vukic. So the 29-year-old has not won a main draw match at Wimbledon for eight years, and it is high time to break the streak. But how is his current form?
Ofner started his Wimbledon preparations after being knocked out in the second round of Roland Garros. In Paris, he defeated Jan-Lennard Struff before losing to Karen Khachanov in a thrilling five-set battle. In Halle, Ofner fought his way through qualifying but was unable to get a foothold against Andrey Rublev.
The dress rehearsal for London ultimately ended in complete failure – Ofner was eliminated in the qualifiers in Mallorca by Mariano Navone. The defeat came at 6-4, 6-7, 1-3, ultimately due to retirement. His heel was causing problems, but Ofner reveals that a short break would have helped him relax.
The 29-year-old has not yet played Hamad Mededovic, so we are in for a real premiere on Tuesday. Unfortunately, the odds from the tax-free betting providers are not in Austria’s favor, as Ofner is going into the match as the underdog. If you want to bet on a victory, you will be rewarded with average odds of 2.30.
On the opponent’s side, we find odds of 1.56, so there aren’t any major differences. Hamad Mededovic is definitely anything but a Wimbledon expert. He appeared in London for the first time two years ago and made it through the qualifiers. He was knocked out in the first round. In 2024, he suffered an even sadder fate, failing to even make it to the main draw.
Accordingly, this is the first time the Serbian has been able to play without qualifying. The 21-year-old recently prepared in Mallorca and did not make a bad impression. He only reached the quarterfinals, where he lost in three sets to Felix Auger-Aliassime, which is not a bad result. After his qualifying exit from Queens, he showed a clear improvement.
Mededovic is not in bad form, as he reached the third round of the French Open, where he lost to Daniel Altmaier. A few weeks earlier, he had set his sights on a victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas and sensationally beat the Greek, even though he had actually wanted to retire due to injury.
Sounds like Sebastian Ofner has a pretty tough opponent who never gives up. One who definitely has power, because: When he squandered match points in his match against Daniel Altmaier a few months ago, he smashed his racket in frustration.
My Ofner Mededovic tip
Filip Misolic was one of the big surprises at the last Grand Slam tournament. Can his compatriot Sebastian Ofner take on that role this time? We don’t know exactly how the Austrian’s sore ankle is doing. Hamad Mededovic is definitely not in the “easy opponent” category.
The Serbian didn’t do badly in Mallorca and can serve freely at Wimbledon. The third round in Paris wasn’t that bad. That’s why I’m trusting our bookies’ assessment this time and also see the young man, who one day wants to succeed his idol Novak Djokovic, coming out on top. My prediction is therefore:
Mededovic wins against Ofner!
