Alexander Zverev believes Jannik Sinner has wrapped up the year-end No 1 spot, saying the battle for No 2 in the ATP Rankings will be a tight race between himself and Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner leads the Live Rankings by 4,000 points from Alcaraz while Zverev is another 135 points adrift in third place.
But the Italian is not yet mathematically assured of finishing the year at No 1 as he can still be overtaken as he will drop 1,680 points during the remainder of the 2024 season.
Alcaraz is only defending 500 points from here on in and Zverev 580 points.
Live ATP Rankings
1. Jannik Sinner – 11,010
2. Carlos Alcaraz – 7,010
3. Alexander Zverev – 6,705
There are also three big tournaments still left on the calendar with 1,000 points on offer to the winner of the Shanghai Open as well as the Paris Masters while an undefeated champion will earn 1,500 points at the ATP Finals in Turin.
Zverev, though, believes Sinner has done enough to become the first Italian to finish the year at No 1 in the rankings and the German has now set his sights on No 2 spot.
Sinner and Alcaraz only have three tournaments remaining on the ATP calendar as they will feature at Shanghai, Paris and Turin.
Zverev will also play at those events, but he will have chance to pick up extra points as he has also entered the ATP 500 Vienna Open.
“For me personally it would be great to finish the year No 2 in the world,” he said.
“I think the No 1 spot is gone to Jannik, he made sure about it during the US Open. I think before the US Open it was quite open between Jannik, Carlos and myself.
“I think finishing in the No 2 spot and starting the year there would be amazing for me. Of course, I know Carlos is playing great tennis right now, he’s in Beijing making up points, and I know that I have to be at my best to achieve that goal.”
The German has a 57–18 win-loss record so far this year, having won one title – the Italian Open – while he finished runner-up to Alcaraz at Roland Garros.
He then reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and the quarter-final at the US Open before withdrawing from the China Open due to pneumonia.
“I feel like my season was a bit in patches. I’ve had great moments, I’ve had very stable moments I think throughout the beginning of the season,” he said.
“You know, then, of course, the clay court season for me was great, winning Rome, making the finals of the French Open, of course a very bitter end to the end of the French Open, but that’s how it goes.
“I felt I was playing the best tennis of my life on grass court this year during Wimbledon until I got hurt. I feel like after the Olympics maybe my level dropped a little bit, but again, I was physically struggling, I was not healthy. I didn’t know what it was.
“I had a very bad cough for about two and a half months, which nobody knew where it came from, and now at least we have answers. We know what it was, we know where it came from, so I’m happy about that.
“I definitely had a little bit of a drop off in level after the Olympics maybe a little bit, so I’m hoping I can get back to top form again.”