Tennis: Zverev number two again

After his victory at the highly prized indoor tournament in Paris-Bercy, Alexander Zverev is again number two in the tennis world rankings. He will therefore move into the ATP finals in Turin starting on Sunday as second on the seeding list, which has the advantage for him that he will not be able to meet number one, Jannik Sinner from Italy, in the group phase, but in the semi-finals at the earliest . Zverev triumphed at the ATP finals in 2018 and 2021.

Zverev has now moved past Carlos Alcaraz from Spain, this year’s Wimbledon and French Open winner, on points, although he has still never conquered a Grand Slam trophy. However, that remains his mission. In Paris, where he beat Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the final (6:2, 6:2), he said after the award ceremony: “I’m sitting next to the Masters 1000 trophy, that’s extremely satisfying.” But he wanted “a few more Improve things to achieve my really ambitious goals”.

Zverev, 27, had already risen to number two in the world once, in June 2022. This time he benefits from the fact that he has won more matches than any other tennis professional on the tour since the beginning of the year, namely 67. Sinner has 66 wins – although the South Tyrolean has only lost six matches over the course of the year, while Zverev has lost 20.

As recently as September, Zverev complained about physical complaints and the after-effects of pneumonia. Symptoms of exhaustion were now not visible to the spectators in Paris, where he achieved his 23rd tournament victory, his second of the season. “I felt very comfortable in the last three matches,” said Zverev. However, he will end the season after the ATP finals. He canceled his participation in the German team at the Davis Cup finals in Malaga in mid-November.