The German has amassed 22 titles to date but failed to win a Grand Slam trophy, losing two finals to Dominic Thiem (2020 US Open) and Alcaraz (2024 French Open).
Currently in contention at the 2024 Paris Masters, the world No 3 accepted in a press conference in the French capital that Alcaraz and Sinner have fared better than him in the 10 months that have passed in the season.
“For sure they are No 1 [Sinner] and 2 [Alcaraz] right now,” Zverev said. “You can see that they both won two Grand Slams this year, so there is no question about that. Even if I finish ahead of Carlos [in rankings] this year, which is still a possibility, I still believe that they’re No 1 and 2, just by the things that they have achieved.”
The 27-year-old looked ready to finally take over from Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer in 2021 — the year he won six tournaments, including the Tokyo Olympics and ATP Finals.
“I feel like by the end of 2021, I was one of the best players in the world,” he added. “I felt like, Novak, Daniil, and myself were kind of sharing the big tournaments between us, and in 2021, especially last six months, I won the gold medal, Novak won Wimbledon, Daniil won US Open, I won the World Tour Finals. I feel like I was going towards this direction of becoming maybe No 1 in the world in 2022.”
Tragedy strikes Zverev at 2022 French Open
Tragedy struck the German at the 2022 French Open, where, fighting for a place in the final and the world No 1 ranking, he left the Roland Garros in crutches after horribly twisting his right ankle against Nadal on the clay. The injury ruled him out for the remainder of 2023.
“I started the season very well. And at the French Open I felt like it was my chance to maybe win my first Grand Slam and to become world No 1, because I would have become world No 1 at that tournament. But then it happened what happened,” Zverev added recalling the fateful day.
“It kind of went out of my control, so I always say I took a two-year break from being one of the best players in the world. I took a two-year break from being a contender at Grand Slams, because 2022 obviously I didn’t play anymore, and 2023 was my comeback season. I was not a contender for winning Grand Slams, not a contender for winning big tournaments.”
Thus, Zverev opined that the 2024 season has been about his revival and he’s resolute to come out of Alcaraz and Sinner’s shadows in the next 12 months:
“So I do feel like this season is the first season again after about two, two-and-a-half years where I was a contender. And again, I’m still trying to improve things. I’m still trying to get better. Hopefully next year will look a little bit different than this year with the big titles, and hopefully I can play a role in it, as well. This is my goal still.”
The German’s immediate challenge, however, is Denmark’s Holger Rune, who’s set to fight him in the semi-finals of the Paris Masters on Saturday (November 2) at Accor Arena.
