Zverev Clinches World No. 1 Ranking With Vienna Win Over Griekspoor

Alexander Zverev will become world No. 1 for the first time when the ATP rankings are published on Monday, November 2, after he beat Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-5 in the last 16 of the Vienna Open on Thursday night.

The top-seeded German sealed the ranking with a second-round win that lasted one hour and 35 minutes, ATP Tour reported. He broke Griekspoor’s serve once in each set, hit 11 aces and won 35 of his 39 first-serve points, according to ATP Tour. He did not face a break point in the match, according to Tennis Majors.

Zverev closed out the win with an ace, after a short delay at match point when a smash damaged part of an electronic board behind Griekspoor and the umpire covered the panel with a towel. “Very special. To have the feeling to be on the top of the world is amazing,” Zverev said on court. “It is different than winning a tournament, winning a title, but it is such a special feeling to know that the number one is going to be next to your name when the new rankings come out.”

First German at the top since Becker

Zverev, 29, will be the 30th man to hold the No. 1 ranking since the rankings began in 1973, and the first German man to reach the top since Boris Becker in 1991. The win was his 64th of the season against 16 losses, and it took him to a tour-leading 13th quarter-final of the year.

The ranking caps a season in which Zverev won his first two Grand Slam titles, at Roland Garros and the US Open, and reached the Wimbledon final, where he lost to Jannik Sinner. Sinner, the current world No. 1, announced on October 6 that he would not play again in 2026 because of a right knee injury, BBC Sport reported, leaving him unable to defend points from his titles in China, Vienna, Paris and the ATP Finals last year.

Zverev next plays Britain’s Arthur Fery in the Vienna quarter-finals. Fery reached the last eight by beating Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

Reporting based on coverage by ATP Tour, BBC Sport and Tennis Majors.