How soon Alexander Zverev can officially become world number one after Shanghai defeat
Alexander Zverev is on the verge of becoming the world number one in tennis, despite his recent semifinal loss at the Shanghai Masters, due to Carlos Alcaraz's early exit. He needs to reach the semifinals of the upcoming Vienna Open to officially claim the top spot, surpassing current leader Jannik Sinner.
Why it matters
This article details a significant potential shift in the men's professional tennis rankings, marking a career milestone for Zverev and a notable moment in German tennis history.
Alexander Zverev was denied the chance to compete for his first ATP Masters 1000 title of the season after losing to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters.
Eventual champion Davidovich Fokina eliminated top seed Zverev by coming back from a set down to win, before doing the same in the final against Rafael Jodar to clinch his third tour-level crown, and first at ATP Masters 1000 level.
With Carlos Alcaraz's early exit from the Shanghai Masters , Zverev secured year-end world number one status for the first time in his career, but the German is not actually officially at the top of the rankings just yet.
Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP via Getty Images
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