After several years of trying, Alexander Zverev finally became a Grand Slam champion in 2026.

The German had long been considered one of the best players to never win a Grand Slam, but that was ended when he lifted the Roland Garros title in June.

He followed it up by winning the US Open in September and he now has his sights set on becoming world No 1 for the first time in his career.

Yannick Noah, who will coach Zverev yet again at the Laver Cup this year, has been incredibly impressed by the German’s ability to turn his career around.

More Alexander Zverev news

In an interview with Eurosport, the Frenchman revealed: “It’s extraordinary. It’s very inspiring for us, but especially for tennis fans, to see this player—whose path to Grand Slams was blocked by the generation of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic— become convinced that his time would come; and to see how, just when he thought he could finally dominate, new players like Sinner and Alcaraz emerged… He felt very frustrated, very frustrated, especially mentally.

“But it also shows that he’s someone who never gave up. In fact, he never threw in the towel, not even in the most difficult or tense moments. He never managed to climb higher than third or fourth in the world rankings.

“And as soon as an opportunity arose—thanks precisely to that fighting spirit—as soon as the path opened up, as soon as the occasion presented itself, he seized it. This year has been magnificent for him. I was especially delighted to see him win in Paris.”

Prior to Zverev’s victory at Roland Garros, he had lost three straight Grand Slam finals. The star was beaten at the 2020 US Open by Dominic Thiem, at Roland Garros 2025 by Alcaraz, and he also succumbed to Sinner in the 2025 Australian Open final.

The German star also lost to Sinner in the Wimbledon 2026 final, so he is currently 2-4 in Grand Slam finals, which is certainly brighter than it was at the start of the year.

With two Grand Slam titles already under his belt, it would not be surprising to see the German star collect more major titles. His next sight, however, is sure to be Sinner’s world No 1 spot.

There is just 1370 ranking points between Sinner and Zverev before the final few tournaments of the year and it could come right down to the wire.

With Sinner reportedly not playing Beijing or Shanghai, that could be cut down even more before the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals.