“I deserve to be where I am”: fed-up No. 1 Zverev tackles doubters and Boris Becker
Alexander Zverev lost 7-6 (5), 6-2 to Lorenzo Musetti in his first match as World No. 1 at the Paris Masters, then said he was fed up with having to justify his ranking and hit back at Boris Becker. “I think I deserve to be where I am,” said the German, who won Roland-Garros and the US Open this year.
Alexander Zverev, Rolex Paris Masters 2026 | © Chryslène Caillaud / PsNewz
Alexander Zverev lost his first match as World No. 1 on Wednesday, beaten 7-6 (5), 6-2 by Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in 1 hour 42 minutes in the second round of the Paris Masters 1000. Then the German said what had weighed on him since Monday. “I was a bit annoyed, to be honest, the last couple of days,” he said at his press conference.
“Because achieving the No. 1 status is something that I think every great player dreams of. But then I feel like I’m the only No. 1 in tennis history that has to explain why it’s OK for me to be No. 1, which I find quite difficult,” Zverev said. “Because I think I deserve to be where I am.”
“I don’t think anybody had to explain themselves as much as I have to do in the last couple of days, which for me is annoying, to be honest,” he added.
Zverev did not hide behind the match either. “To simplify it, he played really good and I played really bad,” he said. “I think this was not a very good match for me. I think one of the worst in the last couple of months. (…) I was bad. That’s quite simple, there are no excuses.”
Answering questions in German, he hit back at Boris Becker, who told Der Spiegel this week that fans had mostly supported his opponents in all three of his Grand Slam finals this year. “I don’t know what’s going on with him at the moment, but I have the feeling that he somehow has to comment on everything I do,” Zverev said in German.
I think he’s just looking for anything at the moment to put me down a bit. He can do that, it’s his choice.
“I felt that in Paris 70 percent of the people were for me. At Wimbledon I played Jannik Sinner, and it was actually 50-50, I felt,” he said. “And in New York, when I play an American, it’s normal that the stadium is against me.”
Becker had also said that Zverev’s silence on the war in Ukraine, which he personally understood, “of course doesn’t go down that well”. “I found it somehow strange that he thinks I should speak out politically,” Zverev replied. “Nobody has ever asked me about it. I’m not going to go on Instagram and post long comments. That’s not me, I’ve never done it and I never will.”
“I think he’s just looking for anything at the moment to put me down a bit. He can do that, it’s his choice,” Zverev said. Three weeks earlier, Becker had hailed him on his podcast with Andrea Petkovic as “rightly and very deservedly” the new World No. 1. “You don’t become No. 1 by chance,” Becker said then.
Why Zverev’s No. 1 status has been questioned
Zverev became the 30th World No. 1 in ATP rankings history on Monday, after a season in which he won Roland-Garros and the US Open, his first two Grand Slam titles. He leads the ATP Tour with 65 match wins this year, according to the ATP. Jannik Sinner is out for the rest of the season.
The doubts were voiced on the first day of the tournament. Commenting live on Eurosport on Monday, French journalist Frédéric Verdier said Zverev had beaten only three top 10 players this season and was benefiting from the absences of Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, according to Univers Tennis.
Jimmy Connors added his voice on his podcast. “As happy as I am for Zverev and the way he has played, he has an obligation now to the game and to himself to play like a two-time Grand Slam champion, every time,” the former World No. 1 said.
Others have defended him. Before the tournament, Rolex Paris Masters director Cedric Pioline said there was no such thing as a No. 1 by default. Pete Sampras, in a video message published by the ATP, said the ranking was well deserved.
Zverev had already answered the question in his first press conference as No. 1, on Monday. “You have to play the best season for an entire year,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the top two guys [Alcaraz and Sinner] being healthy again, playing fully and competing with them. I look forward to that challenge, as well.”
