There has been lots of talk about Alexander Zverev and how deserving he is of being the new world number one.
Many of his peers argue that he has fully earned the title, whilst plenty of fans would passionately disagree.
Those in the latter camp suggest that, because his record against top ten opponents is so poor, and his runs to his two Grand Slam titles were relatively straightforward, he has not been properly tested enough to warrant the top spot.
In all honesty, injuries sustained by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner made it almost impossible for Alexander Zverev not to eventually ascend to the apex.
How long do you think Alexander Zverev keeps the number one ranking?
He is now guaranteed to be year end number one after Carlos Alcaraz’s shock loss in Shanghai…
However, now that he is confirmed as the new world number one, the discourse appears to have shifted, predicting whether he will be able to remain competitive in 2027 with both of these young superstars hopefully fit and available all season.
If yesterday was anything to go by, the answer might be painfully obvious.
Alexander Zverev’s loss to Alex de Minaur is worrying for his 2027 chances
Since winning the US Open, Zverev has hardly looked invincible in the tournaments that have followed.
He lost to a 39-year-old Novak Djokovic in China, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Shanghai, and now De Minaur in Vienna.
The latter of these three matches is easily the most damning, as it saw Zverev revert to what made him routinely fall short of Grand Slam glory throughout the years.
He was passive on the biggest moments and wilted whilst De Minaur took the match into his own hands. As he said afterwards, if he was going to lose, he was going to do it on his own terms.
His aggressive style paid dividends, and he deserved the win. Zverev would never take such a risk.
Against Alcaraz and Sinner, this is the only real way to unsettle them, barring an uncharacteristic off day for them.
If Zverev is going to fall back into old habits, which were proven to be unsuccessful against the world’s best, he stands no chance of challenging Alcaraz and Sinner in 2027 if both are fit.
It’s ironic that Zverev recently outlined an advantage he had over Alcaraz and Sinner just days ago.
Carlos Alcaraz was ready to take ‘revenge’ over Alexander Zverev in the final
Rather preemptively, one reporter seemed to have already put Zverev in the final, when talking to Alcaraz after his win over Medvedev.
After all, he was keen to get the Spaniard’s full thoughts on a potential match-up with the new world number one to be, with comments that have since become obsolete.
Alcaraz came out with fighting words though, and having lost to the German the last time he played this event in 2021, he was desperate to get even.
He told the media: “Of course I have a lot of memories from that match.
“I was kind of new on the tour. Playing with those guys was really difficult for me and a really big challenge.
“New player, new person, new everything. It’s gonna be interesting. I’ve played a couple of times against him since then, but I really wanna take revenge against him here in Vienna.”
This comes not long after Alcaraz said whether he thought Zverev would struggle for motivation now that he has become the new world number one.
