Daniil Medvedev says Alexander Zverev has earned the right to seal the No.1 spot later this season after being able to capitalise on his rivals’ injury misfortunes.
The 29-year-old is set to become the first German man since Boris Becker in 1991 to top the ATP rankings after a stellar season in which he won both the French Open and US Open, as well as reaching the final at Wimbledon and the semi-finals at the Australian Open. He was also runner-up at the Madrid Masters.
Zverev’s breakthrough came during a season when both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were affected by injury. Alcaraz didn’t play for almost five months due to a wrist injury and returned to action in September at the US Open. Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner hasn’t played since Wimbledon and has ended his year early due to a knee issue.
Speaking about the duo’s struggles in an interview with Championat, Medvedev was asked whether he felt 2026 was the perfect opportunity to win a major title.
“No, not really. I wasn’t even close. I didn’t even reach a quarter-final,” he replied.
“But, of course… It’s always been like that. Take the Big Four, for example. Then it became the Big Three because Andy [Murray] suffered an injury relatively early in his career and ended up winning a little less. Obviously, whenever even one of them wasn’t playing, the chances of winning became greater.
“It’s the same thing now. There’s this ‘Big Two’ of players who are, of course, difficult to beat when they’re in form and free of injuries.”
Medvedev, who won the 2021 US Open and has been ranked No. 1 in the world for 16 weeks, went on to praise Zverev for seizing the opportunity. Zverev came into the year without a Grand Slam title in his career.
“Sascha Zverev has done absolutely brilliantly, and he deserves everything he’s achieved,” Medvedev commented.
“He’s been in this position; he’s been the world No. 1, and he’s incredibly consistent. Even if you look at every match he played in Shanghai, he might not have been playing his best tennis, but he still made it to the semi-finals.
“That’s what strength is; that’s what consistency is. And that’s why he would have deserved it. He’s reached three Grand Slam finals and another semi-final — and he’s earned all of that.”
The Russian is currently ranked fifth in the world and is one spot lower in the Race to Turin. This week, Medvedev headlines the Almaty Open in Kazakhstan, where he is the only top-10 player taking part.
A deep run at the tournament will bring Medvedev closer to his goals of qualifying for the ATP Finals. He has played at the year-end event six times in his career so far, winning the title in 2020.
“My chances of qualifying are good, especially if I keep playing,” he said.
“It’s pretty straightforward — there are three tournaments left. Let’s not forget that a fourth one [Stockholm] could potentially come into play if the gap is small — around 100 points. That tournament counts too, but realistically, there are three tournaments left.
“I just need to try to play well in them, and then I’ll qualify, because I’m in a good position at the moment.”
Medvedev will play Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro in his opening match at the Almaty Open later this week.
