From Bublik to Medvedev: 5 men who can spring a surprise in Wimbledon 2025

2025 has been the year for the bottlers. From RCB winning the IPL to Tottenham winning the Europa League and PSG winning their first Champions League title and more, many first-timers got their hands on a major title, and the upcoming edition of Wimbledon could see an unexpected individual laying their hands on the prestigious title.

The men’s singles competition is very likely going to produce some iconic battles, play out storylines that could be remembered for ages and so forth. As always, the spotlight will always be on the top draws like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who are at present the best players in the world, alongside an ageing Novak Djokovic, who is eyeing that record-levelling eighth title.

But the question remains if one of these stars can break the deadlock and beat the top stars to be crowned champions in one of tennis’s iconic tournaments. Let us look at the top five contenders that could spring a surprise in the men’s singles competition:

JACK DRAPER

The fourth-seed and British talent seems to be finding his best form in recent times. He made it to the semi-finals of the recently concluded Queen's Club tournament in London, showing that he can be a nuisance to play against on grass.

Also Read: Wimbledon 2025 Preview: Can Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff finally conquer the grass?

Despite being the fourth seed, it would be very interesting to see if the British number one can go far in the tournament. If he can make it to the knockout stages, he is surely going to fancy his chances of putting up a good fight and hopefully see himself through.

The draw has been fairly kind to start things off, but he could be up against Alexander Bublik in the third round, which could be his first big test before the round of 16 stages.

JIRI LEHECKA

The 23-year-old from the Czech Republic had a very positive showing at the Queen's Club, where he took down some fairly big names like Jack Draper, Alex de Minaur and Gabriel Diallo. While he may have fallen short in the final, he did give a good fight to Carlos Alcaraz. He won five games in the first set and took the game to the third by winning the second set as well. Considering his recent form, it would come as no surprise if he can put up a strong showing at Wimbledon.

With luck of the draw on his side, it would be expected that he makes the to the fourth round at the very least. The rest that comes up will certainly be on if he can turn up.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV

When it comes to people who fumble on the big stage, Medvedev is certainly up there in that category, and this time it could just be written in the stars for the Russian. Since June 2025, he had not played on grass since his semi-final loss to Alcaraz at Wimbledon.

He had a rough start to his time in grass in 2025. Reilly Opelka managed to get the better of him, resulting in a quarterfinal exit. But he seems to have picked up the pace in the Halle Open, where he went all the way to the final to once again choke under pressure and be beaten by the final man in this list, the ultimate wildcard, Alexander Bublik.

The draw has been fairly kind to him as well, with the biggest named threat coming in the fourth round, assuming Taylor Fritz can make it till that stage. Nonetheless, he has shown in the tournament’s previous edition that he can go deep and 2025 could give him just the bit of luck he needed to go all the way.

ALEXANDER BUBLIK

As previously mentioned, the ultimate wildcard and the Russian-born Kazakh pro has been hitting the right form ahead of the tournament. His performance in the Halle Open is one to note. Especially since he took down a tournament favourite, Jannik Sinner, in the Round of 16.

He also took things further by annihilating Medvedev in the final, which took a straight-set win to give him a lot of momentum coming in. With all the confidence, he decided to withdraw from the Eastbourne Open to give himself enough rest to come into Wimbledon as fresh as he can be.

His draw has not been as kind as people may think. Considering the worst-case scenario, he would have to take down the likes of Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper if they perform as expected and make their way through.

He has clearly shown the ability to compete with the best, but at times, he can be his own worst enemy. For the time being, he will hope that his instincts guide him right to hopefully go all the way.