Alexander Zverev will leapfrog Carlos Alcaraz to attain the World No. 2 spot in the new official rankings on Monday, November 3. However, the German still believes there are aspects of his game that need to improve in comparison with Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
On Saturday, November 2, Zverev got the better of Holger Rune 6-3, 7-6(4) in the semifinal of the 2024 Paris Masters. The German will take on Ugo Humbert in the final on Sunday.
During the post-match press conference, Zverev explained why he heads straight to practice rather than resting. He shared it was more about working on certain areas of his game than exhaustion. Claiming that players like Sinner and Alcaraz are "doing a few things better" than him, the German said he was focused on closing that gap.
When asked about what he felt he needed to improve in comparison with their game, Alexander Zverev replied:
"I don't know. But I feel like they are so aggressive. I think tennis is going towards that direction. I think when they get an easy ball, when they're in an attacking position, 90% of the time the point is over, whether it's a winner or an unforced error. That's how hard they hit the ball, that's how aggressive they are. I think in that aspect I can improve. That's what I'm trying to do," he said.
Alexander Zverev ranks Carlos Alcaraz as second-best player in the world behind Jannik Sinner, despite reclaiming World No. 2 spot
Reflecting on his recent return to the World No. 2 ranking, Alexander Zverev acknowledged the achievement but placed his competitors, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, ahead in terms of this season’s success. During the same press conference, Zverev commented:
"It's nice to be back at the highest position that I have been so far. Of course I want to get higher, but for me still Jannik has the best year, for sure, and then Carlos had the second-best year. He won two Grand Slams."
Heaping praise on the young Spaniard, Zverev added:
"I know that I'm ahead of him in the rankings maybe, but for me he won Wimbledon and Roland Garros. Those are two massive titles. So, they are still the two best players in the world, in my opinion, at the moment," he added.
On the tennis front, Alexander Zverev will next take on Ugo Humbert in the final of the 2024 Paris Masters in search of his seventh Masters 1000 title. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will head to Turin for the ATP Finals.