Alexander Zverev replaces Andy Murray as second-oldest man to debut at world No.1
Alexander Zverev has become the second-oldest first-time world No.1 by securing enough points at the Vienna Open to supplant Jannik Sinner atop the ATP rankings. Almost exactly a decade after Andy Murray reached that same milestone at 29 years and 176 days old, this year’s Roland Garros and US Open champion will be just 19 days older when he officially does so on Monday. John Newcombe is the oldest ever debutant world No. 1, achieving the feat 11 days after his 30th birthday in 1974, a year after they were introduced, by displacing Ilie Nastase, who spent 40 weeks as the first incumbent at the top spot. Fifty-three years later, Zverev becomes the 30th player to do likewise, and just the second German after Boris Becker, who spent a combined 12 weeks at the top spot during 1991 while swapping places with Stefan Edberg.
Zverev guaranteed his place by beating Tallon Griekspoor in the Vienna Open second round, a year on from Sinner beating him from a set down in Austria. The Italian’s last match was also a win over Zverev in this summer’s Wimbledon final, with a knee injury forcing him to end his season prematurely in early October.
That announcement all but assured the German would become world No.1 before this year ended, with Sinner unable to defend the points he earned by winning the ATP Finals, China Open, Paris Masters and Vienna Open late last year. That has now happened at the earliest possible opportunity, with Zverev reaching the quarter-finals in Beijing and the semi-finals in Shanghai, losing on both occasions to the eventual champion, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Novak Djokovic.
Zverev said in an on-court interview after beating Griekspoor: “I had to wait, but sometimes you’ve got to wait for the best things in life. It is how it is; I’m super happy.
This year? I have no words for this year. I’m just thankful, I’m happy.”
He concluded: “It is different from winning a tournament or a title, but it’s such a special feeling to know that the No. 1 is going to be next to your name when the new rankings come out.”
After securing the year-end No.1 ranking in Shanghai, Zverev said: “It’s been a fantastic season for me, winning in Paris and New York and knowing that I will finish the year on top of the rankings is just a dream come true. So much work and effort have been put into achieving this goal, especially after coming back from the ankle injury [suffered at Roland Garros in 2022]. I look forward to finishing the season in style.
