Alexander Zverev’s first match as the official world No 1 did not go to plan after losing to Lorenzo Musetti in his Paris Masters opener on Wednesday.
Zverev clinched the No 1 ranking from Jannik Sinner last week at the Vienna Open but fell short of winning the title as Alex De Minaur beat him in the semi-finals.
The 29-year-old became only the second German to top the rankings, after Boris Becker, and heading into the final Masters 1000 event of the year, the 6ft 6in player cut a relaxed figure. However, he still stressed he has a point to prove going into 2027.
Zverev said in his pre-tournament press conference, “I think I for sure had a great season, and I’m very happy with the season that I have had, winning two Grand Slams, World No. 1, and all that, for sure.
“But of course there are so many other things that I still want to achieve, and I still have the goals to achieve. And I think it’s very important in any sports or any person’s life to have certain goals that are set for you, which I definitely do.
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“I’m looking forward to the top two guys being healthy again, playing fully and competing with them. I look forward to that challenge, as well.”
When pressed on whether he wanted to beat the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner more often, after losing all six of his meetings with them in 2026, the US Open and French Open champion admitted that was a goal, among other things.
“Well, I think competing with them is not one, but for sure another goal of mine now, I feel like this year was the first time I could play on the grass court in my life,” he said.
“Before, I didn’t know what to do on the grass court. I definitely feel like I can compete for all the four Grand Slams. Of course, hopefully getting a few more would be great for me.”
Heading into the Paris Masters, Zverev had chalked up a 3-9 record against top 10 players in 2026 – the worst a No 1 has achieved in the Open Era.
And things didn’t get much better in the second round of the Paris Masters for Zverev after losing 7-6 (5) 6-2 to Musetti in one hour and 40 minutes.
As a result, Zverev joined an undesirable No 1 ranking club. He became the fifth player to officially be confirmed as world No 1 and then lose in the very next match. The first to do it in the Open Era was John McEnroe, who would go on to win seven Grand Slams in singles.
The American took top spot on 3 March, 1980, but was brought back down to earth by Jose-Luis Clerc after losing to him in the Davis Cup in Buenos Aires five days later. He then lost again for his country against Argentina, this time to clay court titan Guillermo Vilas.
Fast forward to 1996, Thomas Muster was confirmed as the world No 1 on 12 February, 1996. But in his next match at the Dubai Open, he lost to Australia’s Sandon Stolle and then lost his top spot after a mere week. He added an extra five weeks to that haul between March and April that year, though.
In November 2021, two-time major champion Lleyton Hewitt made it to the top rung of the rankings after winning the Tennis Masters Cup but then fell to Nicolas Escude in a Davis Cup tie for Australia against France in his next match.
Finally, Alcaraz, of all people, lost his debut match as the world No 1 when he was beaten by Felix Auger-Aliassime in a Davis Cup tie between Spain and Canada in September 2022.
As we all know, though, the Spaniard would reclaim the No 1 ranking and chalk up seven majors to date. In the bigger picture, Zverev, who has played non-stop since winning at Flushing Meadows, will now enjoy a slight rest ahead of the ATP Finals the week after next.
