An unsettling sense of déjà vu hardly came as a surprise in Alexander Zverev’s camp when his name was drawn to meet Tallon Griekspoor, a qualifier ranked No.124 in the world at the All England Club.

In five defeats on Wimbledon’s lawns, the German had already come up short twice against a qualifier – his last defeat here came in the opening round in 2019 at the hands of Jiri Vesely, a Czech qualifier also ranked No.124.

Fortunately for the No.4 seed, there would be no repeat under the roof of No.1 Court on Tuesday as he dismantled his Dutch challenger, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1, in 94 minutes.

Whereas the Zverev of Wimbledon 2019 had failed to pass a Grand Slam quarter-final in 17 main draw attempts, he has managed to do so three times in the six since.

“Everybody was saying that I don't do too well in Slams, but I was also 19, 20, 21 years old. I was young,” Zverev said. “Playing well at Slams is a different thing than playing well at other tournaments.

“Yes, I was winning Masters Series, I was winning the World Tour Finals, I was No.3 in the world. Out of the young guys, I was always the first to do things. But now, I mean, look, the last probably 12 months, or even since Australia 2020, I have shown great results, and I think now people will ask, ‘When are you going to win one?’

“When I win one, people are going to ask, I don't know, ‘Why don't you win 10?’ Or something like this. There is always going to be something that will be a question.”

Unperturbed at having failed to serve out his first Grand Slam final at last year’s US Open, Zverev has not lost his sting and has gone into 2021 with all the gusto and intent of a man inching ever closer to being a champion.

The pertinent question has now shifted as to whether he could deliver at SW19, where he has reached the fourth round only once before.

After his taste of what could have been at Flushing Meadows it was clear deep runs would no longer suffice. There was a surly determination, no doubt heavily laced with frustration, from the German in the aftermath of a five-set defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Roland-Garros semi-finals.

Once the most commonly touted heir apparent to the Big Three, he was being usurped by his peers - on that occasion one even younger than himself.

Griekspoor, a fellow 24-year-old, knows only too well the feeling of having watched his peers surpass him. Whereas Zverev tasted success early, the Dutchman has toiled away at Futures and Challenger levels.

This was only his second Grand Slam main draw appearance, having won through three rounds of Qualifying. He had lost his only other Tour-level match on grass, on home turf four years ago, and Zverev was his first top 10 opponent.

As he nervously puffed out his cheeks, desperate to stem the flow against him on the sprawling surrounds of No.1 Court, Griekspoor drew momentary reprieve when he broke as Zverev served for the opening set at 5-1.

It merely delayed the inevitable as his clean-hitting opponent closed out the set two games later outdoors and finished the match two sets later indoors.

Afterwards the German was asked if he is a worthy prediction to face top seed Novak Djokovic for the men’s title. The Zverev of Wimbledon 2021 was convinced that had a nice ring to it. “If you give me a paper, I will sign right now,” he smiled.