Alexander Zverev loses significant status and could face rankings nightmare after Roland Garros

ATP Tour

Shahida Jacobs
May 17, 2023

Alexander Zverev’s struggles continue as his latest defeat to Daniil Medvedev means he is no longer the German No 1.

Tuesday was always going to be a difficult day for Zverev at the Italian open as his third-round match against JJ Wolf was only completed in the morning due to rain and later in the day he took on Medvedev.

And it was a bad end to the day as the world No 3 claimed his ninth career win over Zverev with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) victory.

It was a double blow for Zverev as the loss saw him drop to No 27 in the Live ATP Rankings with Jan-Lennard Struff – who finished runner-up at the Madrid Open – replacing him as the German No 1. Struff currently sits at No 26 and he could climb further as he is the top seed at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Bordeaux this week.

Struff, though, insists the 26-year-old remains a “top five player”, saying: “Basically, it means nothing to me. He was injured for a long time and we know what he’s actually capable of. He’s a top five player.”

For Zverev, it has been a tough year following his horrific ankle injury in the semi-final of the French Open last year and the 27th spot is his lowest ranking since September 2019.

His win-loss record reads 14-13 in 2023 while he is 6-4 on clay for the year, not the most inspiring statistics with Roland Garros just around the corner.

“I’m 1000km away. I just don’t win, but that’s missing. I don’t feel like saying anything. I’m out earlier than I had hoped,” the German told Sky Deutchland after his defeat to Medvedev.

He added: “I have to win and then that will solve [a lot of problems]. I don’t know what to say anymore. At the moment this year I’m probably playing the worst tennis since 2015, 2016.”

Alexander Zverev’s possible Roland Garros rankings nightmare

Although there are two ATP 250 events taking place next week, Zverev and the rest of the top players usually skip those tournaments in order to rest ahead of Roland Garros.

It means he will head to Paris with 1,630 ranking points and, after reaching the semi-final of the clay-court Grand Slam last year, he has 720 points to defend.

Should he lose in the first round then he will most likely slip outside the top 40 of the ATP Rankings, which will leave him unseeded for Wimbledon.

But the good news for Zverev is the fact that he doesn’t have any points to defend after Roland Garros as he was out injured. If he does pull off extended runs at the Halle Open – or any other tournament – then he will climb up the rankings again.

Alexander Zverev