Alexander Zverev comments on the number one ranking as it moves into view

Alexander Zverev has enjoyed the standout year of his career to date, finally claiming that elusive Grand Slam title.

He swiftly followed that up with a first Wimbledon final, before doubling his major tally by winning the US Open as well.

Even if his success directly correlates with the absence of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, nobody can ever take these successes away from him.

And, a happy benefit of this fine form is that he has amassed an impressive number of ranking points too, thus shortening the gap between himself and the current world number one.

Now, chatting with Sky Sports, Zverev has commented on the prospect of potentially soon overtaking the Italian.

Asked whether he is embracing the increased talk about him becoming the world number one, or if he seeks to shut out that kind of noise, Zverev first insisted: “It doesn’t matter!”

He then explained why it doesn’t, highlighting how these kinds of conversations arise from his fine form; all he needs to do is focus on that, and the other accolades will come.

The German continued: “The conversations are there right now, and especially with the question marks that Jannik has a little bit health-wise.

“But yeah, I’m just focusing on doing my job, I’m focusing on playing good tennis, I’m focusing on doing everything I can to prepare well for the matches that are ahead of me, and the rest will just follow.

“If you’re playing good tennis, if you’re winning matches, if you’re competing for good tournaments… yeah, those conversations come, but it’s a good thing when they come.”

Despite this chatter, Roger Federer still thinks Sinner has had a better year than Zverev.

As he alluded to, the fitness of the 24-year-old will be crucial in deciding how long he can hold on to the top spot.

Zverev’s task has just gotten a lot easier though, with Sinner having just withdrawn from the China Open, insisting his knee injury is ‘still not ready’.

It was their respective US Open campaigns that have really sparked this conversation though, with the 28-year-old claiming his first title there, and Sinner having withdrawn before the event even began, and thus being unable to defend his points from reaching the final last year.

Now, he sits atop the rankings on exactly 11,000 points, just 1,370 ahead of Zverev on 9,630.

However, in the coming months, Sinner will have to defend plenty more points, having won titles in Vienna, Paris and the ATP Finals.

That’s without mentioning the China Open, where he will once again forfeit his points from winning last year’s title. It’s not looking good for the four-time major champion.