Musetti spoils Zverev’s first match as World No. 1 in Paris
Lorenzo Musetti beat top seed Alexander Zverev 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the Paris second round, in the German’s first match as World No. 1. The Italian becomes only the fifth man to beat a newly crowned No. 1 in his first match at the top, and faces Luca Van Assche next.
Lorenzo Musetti, Lyon 2026 | © Sandrine Thesillat / PsNewz
Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti beat top seed Alexander Zverev of Germany 7-6 (5), 6-2 in 1 hour 42 minutes in the second round of the Paris Masters 1000 on Wednesday, in the German’s first match as World No. 1. Musetti, ranked No. 24, will face Frenchman Luca Van Assche in the last 16.
It is the Italian’s second win over a World No. 1, and he now leads Zverev 4-2 in their head-to-head. Zverev, who took the top spot on Monday, had a 16-1 record in his opening matches this season.
Musetti is the fifth man to beat a player in his first match as World No. 1 since the start of the ATP rankings in 1973, according to the ATP. He joins Jose-Luis Clerc, Sandon Stolle, Nicolas Escude and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
How Musetti beat Zverev in Paris
Musetti held all 10 of his service games and won the first-set tie-break 7-5, then broke Zverev twice in the second set. Zverev made 21 unforced errors to the Italian’s 12.
“I think he hit two very good returns,” Zverev said in German of the tie-break. “Very fast surface, everything can happen very, very fast here.”
Zverev now turns to the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, from November 15 to 22. “The court was very, very fast, but I actually think that this is the court that it should be during the indoor season,” he said.
Rolex Paris Masters 2026 second-round results
Lorenzo Musetti d. Alexander Zverev (1) 7-6 (5), 6-2
Luca Van Assche d. Learner Tien (15) 7-6 (4), 6-4
Novak Djokovic (10) vs Rinky Hijikata (Q) (Wednesday)
Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs Alex de Minaur (8) (Wednesday)
Ben Shelton (3) d. Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4
Arthur Rinderknech d. Mattia Bellucci (Q) 6-4, 6-1
Tommy Paul (12) d. Daniel Merida 6-1, 6-1
Quentin Halys d. Frances Tiafoe (7) 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (9)
Thiago Agustin Tirante (LL) vs Jan-Lennard Struff (SE) (Wednesday)
Casper Ruud d. Rafael Jodar (9) 6-3, 6-4
Nuno Borges (LL) vs Karen Khachanov (Wednesday)
Ignacio Buse vs Daniil Medvedev (4) (Wednesday)
Arthur Fils (6) vs Tomas Machac (Q) (Wednesday)
Alex Molcan (Q) vs Taylor Fritz (11) (Wednesday)
Matteo Berrettini vs Ugo Humbert (Wednesday)
Alex Michelsen vs Carlos Alcaraz (2) (Wednesday)
In bold: today’s results.
