Alexander Zverev clinched the No 1 ranking for the first time in his career – but the German was made to wait for it during his Vienna Open win over Tallon Griekspoor.
The US Open champion beat the Dutchman 6-4, 7-5 on Thursday to advance to the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 event, ensuring he overtook Jannik Sinner in the live rankings.
Despite losing his last encounter with Griekspoor at the Canadian Open, the German was in no mood to see that repeated as he kept his hard-hitting opponent at arm’s length.
His victory meant he became the first German player to become the world No 1 since Boris Becker achieved that feat back in 1991. Plus, the French Open winner will also become the 30th member of the ATP No 1 club.
Zverev sealed the match with an ace, with the 6ft 6in player then lifting his arms into the air, while sporting a big grin on his face, before embracing Griekspoor at the net.
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However, Zverev was made to wait on Thursday evening due to a technological failure on the centre court. After the two-time Grand Slam champion hit a smash to set up match point, the ball appeared to damage an LED board just behind Griekspoor.
Oh no.
A problem with the LED just before MP.
Bizarre scenes in Vienna. https://t.co/ZH5cH4quIa
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) October 29, 2026
Initially, the 30-year-old tapped the board, and then both players had to wait for somebody to come and resolve the issue. When the supervisor eventually came onto the court, he was at a loss over how to fix the problem.
After he looked puzzled, Griekspoor then kicked the broken section before the supervisor took a towel and draped it over the glitchy area. Following the delay, which led to much mirth around the arena, Zverev held his nerve and closed out the victory.
In the live rankings, Zverev is now level on 9,450 points with Sinner, who has been out with a knee injury since beating the German in the Wimbledon final in mid-July.
Zverev is now 64-16 for the season and advanced to a tour-leading 13th quarter-final of 2026. Next up, he will face Arthur Fery in a repeat of their Wimbledon semi-final, which the Brit lost in straight sets.
If he wins that, Zverev will have a 100-point lead over Sinner in the rankings. But as of next Monday, men’s tennis will have a new No 1.
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