Alexander Zverev has enjoyed a tournament he will not soon forget in the Austrian capital.
And, things could still get better, with a semi-final to play later today.
Regardless of how it ends though, this will forever be the event where he finally ascended to the top of the world rankings, to become just the 30th man in Open Era history to reach the ATP world number one.
Speaking at his press conference after his latest win, a comprehensive beatdown of Arthur Fery in a rematch of the Wimbledon semi-final, Zverev spoke about the differences between this steady rise to the pinnacle and the thrill of winning a major title.
However, before that, he once again discussed his issues with the tennis schedule.
Alexander Zverev has a simple fix for the tennis schedule
This has been a bone of contention for many players, with Carlos Alcaraz having complained about the schedule at length.
It does feel like more and more players are starting to come out and share their thoughts, yet nothing ever really seems to change.
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…
Zverev, asked for his thoughts, reiterated his ‘simple’ fix, noting: “Improving it is relatively simple. I’ve said it many times: I think we should just play two, three weeks less in the season and have more time to, first, give our bodies rest and second, to build up.
“I’m someone who, I already emphasised it yesterday, I’m someone who really likes doing a lot of physical work. But this year, if I play the Davis Cup match, we play almost into December, and if I played the United Cup, I have had to play my first match at the end of December. I’m not playing the United Cup because it’s simply impossible for me.”
Clearly frustrated at the lack of action, Zverev added: “At some point it’s nonsense, but I’ve been saying that for 10 years and nothing changes, so that’s why I think actually the players right now are talking about it more, also expressing more dissatisfaction.
“I think more and more of that will come, but I’m of the opinion that unfortunately it’s going in the wrong direction for us at the moment.”
Alexander Zverev compares becoming world number one to winning a Grand Slam
In that same press conference, just days after Zverev shared how it really felt to be world number one, he then compared it to the Grand Slam glory he has achieved this year as well.
He admitted: “Yes, it’s a different feeling, because if you win a Grand Slam now you get a trophy when the tournament is over. And then you’ve won something, but that only spans two weeks; to become number one in the world, you have to have played the best season over the whole year.
‘You have to have collected the most ATP points over the whole year, and that’s something different. It’s a completely different feeling; it’s very special.
“It’s somehow also comparable to a Grand Slam win, but as I said, a Grand Slam win spans two weeks. Becoming number one spans 12 months.”
