An impressive winner of the Paris Masters 1000, the German hopes to rival Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz next season in the race for Grand Slam titles.
By outclassing Ugo Humbert en final, Zverev has won his seventh Masters 1000 title at the age of 26. His first in Paris. He failed to reach the final in 2020 against Daniil Medvedev. The latest king of Bercy. ” I was able to be aggressive from the start and that was important because he (Humbert) is. And when he can attack, he’s one of the best. His defense isn’t as good, so I had to attack. I felt very good from the baseline and I think that was the key against him. “. From Paris to Paris. In the spring of 2022, the Hamburg native suffered a serious ankle injury against Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals. On Monday, he was 2e ranked just behind Sinner. It’s now official: the German is back on track to reach the summit of world tennis, as he continues his quest for a first Grand Slam victory (two defeats in the final at the US Open 2020 and Roland-Garros 2024).
Today, it’s very complicated to be No. 1 without winning a Grand Slam.
By 2025, he’ll also have his sights set on the top spot. He makes no secret of it, but remains lucid. “I want to go even higher. Today, it’s very complicated to be n°1 without winning a Grand Slam. I’m 3000 points behind Jannik Sinner. In 2021, we were sharing the headlines with Novak and Daniil (Medvedev). There was a changeover taking place. In 2022, I wasn’t far from becoming world n°1. Novak (Djokovic) hadn’t played many tournaments because he hadn’t been vaccinated. Rafa (Nadal) had started strongly, but got injured. So did Medvedev. Then came the injury and a two-year process to get back. I’m delighted to be in the right place again, because I had no guarantee of making it. In 2024, Jannik (Sinner) had the best season. Carlos is still second best, even if I’m ahead of him in the rankings. He won the French Open and Wimbledon, two incredible titles. They’re the two best players in the world at the moment.
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At Bercy this week, the colossus treated himself to a strange routine. A post-match workout. A workhorse. Even after his show of strength in the final: “It’s about improving certain aspects of my game. When I play against Jannik and Carlos, I can see that they do certain things better than me and I want to improve. Not just for the final, but for next year. That’s why I’ve been training a lot since the beginning of the week, to be better next year.” It’s not easy to keep up with the infernal pace set by the two prodigies. Zverev makes no secret of his admiration for the Italian and Spaniard. “They’re so aggressive in their game. I think tennis is heading in that direction. When they have an easy ball and are in a position to attack, they finish the point at 90%. That’s what I’m trying to improve in my game. In any case, if you don’t move forward, you end up going backwards. Novak, over the last 15-20 years, has improved every year. If you ask him if he was a better player last year, in 2023, compared to 10 years ago, when he was younger, I think he’d say he’s a better tennis player now.”
There’s no doubt that Zverev will be a force to be reckoned with next year. But before that, the German will be particularly one to watch at the Turin Masters (November 10-17) in search of a third Masters title after 2018 and 2021.