Alexander Zverev will rise to second in the ATP world rankings on Monday after reaching the Wimbledon final, another reminder that elite sport runs on hierarchy, rankings and the quiet discipline of winners and losers. On Sunday at Wimbledon, the German lost to Jannik Sinner 6-7(7) 7-6(2) 6-3 6-4 after leading the final before falling in four sets. The scoreboard did the sorting. The system did the rest.
Zverev, 29, said the match was his 10th loss in a row to Sinner, though he argued this one was different because it was “a real fight.” He also said that if he had not fallen at 3-3 in the third set on his only break point of the match, he may have become the first German man to win the singles title at the All England Club since Michael Stich in 1991. One slip, one point, one more year for the record books to wait.
The Rankings Keep Their Own Order
The ATP’s Monday rankings release will put Zverev at second, even after defeat. That’s how the machine works: lose the final, climb the ladder anyway. He called his French Open triumph last month his first Grand Slam title at the 41st attempt, a number that says plenty about the grind of elite tennis and the narrow gate through which prestige is handed out. Some will point to the fact that Sinner lost in the second round and Spanish seven-time major winner Alcaraz was absent with an ongoing wrist injury. The field, like every field, was shaped by who could show up and who couldn’t.
Zverev said the new-found belief from his win over Flavio Cobolli at Roland Garros carried into Wimbledon, where a far more attacking approach, especially with his forehand, took him to his best-ever run at the grasscourt Slam. “I've said it at the beginning of the year, and I've stuck to it. That's the tennis I want to play. That's the game style I want to play,” he said. He added that there were matches earlier in the year when he struggled with the style, but kept doing it anyway. “The more I do it, the better I'll become,” he said. “I won a Grand Slam for the first time in my career in Paris. I made it to the finals here for the first time in my career. Of course, something has to be working.”
The Margins Decide Everything
Zverev said his first serve percentage hovered around 80% for much of the final and that his forehand, once regarded as too passive, was used to “destructive effect” to rock Sinner. “When I have the opportunity, I hit it. Whether I make it or miss it, that depends on the day. But I definitely go for it,” he said. “That's my goal, that's my aim for this year, that's my aim for hopefully the rest of my career.”
That language fits the sport’s brutal arithmetic. Go for it. Miss it. Win the title or watch someone else lift it. The margins are tiny, and the rewards are enormous. Zverev said he believes he can challenge Sinner and Alcaraz for the game’s big prizes, even though he hasn’t beaten them this year. “I've been pushing those guys,” he said. “I haven't beaten them this year, but I've pushed them to the limits, I would say. Alcaraz in Australia, Jannik maybe here. Even though it was four sets, I think it was a very close four sets, which could have gone five as well.”
He also addressed the old search for tennis’s “third guy.” “There was always this conversation who will be the third guy, the search for the third guy,” he said. “Kind of the last couple years, I've always been the third guy, but I was just far away from those two. If I get closer to them, if I can be in the mix, competing and winning the big tournaments, it would be great.”
Zverev said the fall in the third set affected his serving. “I over-extended my knee again, similar to two years ago,” he said. “I was struggling to push off on the serve a little bit. So my serve speed went down. But everything else went fine.” He added, “I think the fall didn't help me in the third set. My level dropped a little bit. But then I picked it up in the fourth again. Overall I thought it was quite high level throughout.” The final ended the way these finals often do: one player left with the trophy, the other left with explanations, numbers and the next ranking slot.