Alexander Zverev eyeing rankings breakthrough as he storms into Cincinnati semi-finals
Alexander Zverev is through to the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati and his run in Ohio has secured him a huge rankings boost.
Zverev was a regular in the top ten of the ATP rankings prior to a serious ankle injury he sustained in his French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal last year.
That saw the German spend several months away from the game, with his impressive return to form in recent weeks culminating with his winning run in Cincinnati.
He booked a place in the last four with his convincing 6-2 6-3 win against France’s Adrian Mannarino, with Zverev’s powerful serve and big hitting from the back of he court too much for his opponent.
This latest win is set to move Zverev up to No 12 in the ATP rankings on Monday, as he closes in on a return to the top 10 ahead of the US Open.
With no ranking points to defend for the rest of 2023, Zverev could be comfortably in the top 10 by the end of the year and a deep run in the final major of the year in New York could push him towards qualification to the ATP Finals in Turin at the end of the season.
Zverev has a career high ATP ranking of No 2 in June 2022, which was when he was playing his best tennis ahead of that injury at the French Open.
Now he is getting back to his very best, with his display against Mannarino far too much for the Frenchman who had no answer to an opponent who display more power and class in every department.
“I have had a lot of tough battles with Adrian, but I have always played him when I’m playing well,” said Zverev.
“He has beaten a lot of great players, but I feel like my tennis is coming along quite well.
“I had a bad week in Toronto last week, so it was important to come out here and play some good tennis.”
This is a stunning return to form for Zverev given the severity of his ankle injury and he admitted he took time to recover the mental and physical strength to compete on court when he spoke to the ATP in June.
“I couldn’t play for the first seven months of my injury,” said Zverev, who is currently on a nine-match winning streak in Cincinnati after he lifted the title at the tournament in 2021.
“Then for the next three, four months I was still in pain, so I wasn’t pain-free.
“I wasn’t able to move the way I wanted to. But, I mean, sometimes it’s also just reminding yourself of who you were and what kind of matches you have won in the past. I think that is important sometimes as well.
“I don’t think about the injury anymore. I’m going on court to win tennis matches.
“I’m not thinking about what happened last year. I have to talk about it a lot obviously, and that’s fine. That’s everybody’s job, but I’m here to win tennis matches.”
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