Alexander Zverev loses German No. 1 status after Italian Open loss to Daniil Medvedev

Alexander Zverev will no longer be Germany’s No. 1 tennis player come Monday.

Zverev, who was the defending semifinalist at the on-going Masters 1000 Italian Open, faced a premature loss to Daniil Medvedev [6-2, 7-6 (3)] in the fourth round of the 2023 edition.

The former World No. 2’s held the German No. 1 status since 2016. His latest loss, however, has confirmed that he will no longer be the country’s best player ahead of the 2023 French Open. The honor will be bestowed upon 33-year-old Jan-Lennard Struff.

Struff will be replacing Alexander Zverev as Germany’s best men’s tennis player, thanks to his astonishing stint at the recently concluded Madrid Open. In the Spanish capital, Jan-Lennard Struff scripted history by lifting the runner-up trophy against Carlos Alcaraz after entering the Masters 1000 main draw as a lucky loser.

Struff re-entered the World’s top 100 after his Monte-Carlo Masters quarterfinals finish against eventual champion Andrey Rublev. The 33-year-old veteran was ranked World No. 65 while contesting the Masters 1000 in Madrid. After his impressive campaign in Spain, Jan-Lennard Struff reached a career-high ranking of World No. 28. The German has currently accumulated 1387 ranking points.

Alexander Zverev, meanwhile, has 1360 ranking points to his name, and will thus be placed right behind his older compatriot on Monday. While the German duo’s live rankings are World No. 26 and World No. 27, the situation might change depending on Francisco Cerundolo’s run at the Italian Open. The Argentinian player has collected 1345 points so far, and is through to quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 event.

Another German staging a commendable run is Yannick Hanfmann, who is through to the Italian Open quarterfinals as well. With 791 points and a career-high live ranking of World No. 63, the 31-year-old qualifier stands the chance of leapfrogging his compatriots if he is to win the title.

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Alexander Zverev set to defend major ranking points heading into the 2023 French Open

Alexander Zverev injured his ankle in the semifinals of the 2022 French Open

Alexander Zverev has the crucial task of defending more than half of his ranking points at the upcoming 2023 French Open.

Zverev’s 2022 season reached a devastating conclusion in the semifinals of the French Open last year. The German’s match-up against Rafael Nadal ended abruptly after he tore all three ligaments in his right ankle after ann awkward slide.

The 26-year-old resumed his tennis journey six months later, in January 2023. He has, however, not earned any favorable results thus far. The Tokyo Olympic gold medalist’s best outcome has been in the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships. He has failed to defend points earned as the semifinalist in Monte-Carlo and Rome, and as the runner-up in Madrid in 2022.

Zverev’s biggest test awaits at the 2023 French Open, where the defending semifinalist will be hoping to guard 720 of his 1360 ranking points.

Thankfully, the 2020 US Open runner-up has he has zero points to defend after the clay court Major, and will thus only add to his ranking points with every tournament appearance.