Alexander Zverev continues to attract pelters from naysayers as he inches closer to the No 1 ranking for the first time in his career.

After years of near misses and three runner-up spots in Grand Slam finals, Zverev finally got over the line at this year’s French Open.

The 29-year-old beat 10th seed Flavio Cobolli in five sets to eventually end his major drought, but critics argued that there was something of an asterisk next to this win.

That was because he didn’t have to beat any of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, or Novak Djokovic, all players he has failed to conquer in 2026.

Former world No 4 Greg Rusedski dismissed claims Zverev has been “lucky” to get to this point, with the Brit insisting that you can only beat what’s in front of you.

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Zverev – who also triumphed at the US Open – won just two of his 10 meetings with players in the top 10 this year, and yet, he is on the cusp of topping the rankings.

Sinner’s season-ending knee injury means the German will overtake him in the rankings, barring a catastrophic final few weeks of the campaign. He is currently 1,230 points behind Sinner in the live rankings but 840 points ahead in the ATP Tour Race.

But to many of his doubters, that is not enough. They argue that if Alcaraz and Sinner didn’t get injured, he wouldn’t be in this position.

Even though he is now ahead of one-time slam winners Daniil Medvedev, Gaston Gaudio, Dominic Thiem, Juan Martin Del Potro, Marin Cilic, Andy Roddick, Thomas Johansson, and Juan Carlos Ferrero, a big swathe of tennis fans will continue to besmirch Zverev’s name.

Marcelo Rios never won a Grand Slam but got to No 1 for six weeks. Two-time major winner Patrick Rafter famously held top spot for one week, while former French Open winner Carlos Moya was No 1 for a fortnight.

So, what does Zverev think of all his doubters?

After his French Open triumph, it was put to Zverev that he once said he would rather be the worst player to win a Grand Slam instead of the best player who never won one.

To which he replied, “If someone considers me the worst player to win a Grand Slam, I couldn’t care less at this point. Honestly, it doesn’t matter to me.”

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