The Hamburg native needs just two more wins in Austria, and his dream would come true on 2 November.
Following his brief break, Alexander Zverev is back on the tennis tour – and could secure the number one spot in the world rankings at the tournament in Vienna. Contrary to what the ATP initially reported, despite recently missing out on the title in Shanghai, the Hamburg native only needs to reach the quarter-finals in the Austrian capital to top the men’s tennis rankings for the first time on 2 November.
On Monday, Zverev faces Martín Landaluce of Spain in the first round. Should the favourite prevail, he will then need just one more victory to fulfil his lifelong dream as early as the beginning of November. The reason: this year’s subsequent Indoor Masters in Paris is taking place a week later than in 2025 – meaning that last year’s winner, Sinner, will lose his 1,000 world ranking points immediately after the Vienna tournament week.
Zverev is looking forward to Vienna
It is already a foregone conclusion that Zverev will finish the tennis year as world number one following the injured Italian’s withdrawal from the season; the only question now is when Zverev will overtake him.
“I love playing here, I think the city is beautiful and I feel at home here,” said Zverev, who had recently left his participation in the Vienna tournament open. After his semi-final exit in Shanghai against the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, he had said he was tired and wanted to take a break.