Der Streit mit Becker ist noch nicht beendet.

Alexander Zverev secured the number one position in the Association of Tennis Professionals men’s singles rankings following his victory over Tallon Griekspoor on Thursday in Vienna. The 29-year-old German defeated the Dutchman 6-4 and 7-5 in one hour and 36 minutes to advance to the quarter-finals of the Erste Bank Open. This result guaranteed Zverev the top spot in the weekly rankings released on Monday, making him the 30th male player to hold the number one ranking since the system began in 1973. He becomes the second German man to achieve this feat, following Boris Becker, who reached the summit in 1991. Zverev’s path to the top of the world rankings was facilitated by the early-season withdrawal of Italian rival Jannik Sinner due to a knee injury. Sinner ended his season in early October, leaving the number one slot vacant for the remainder of the year. Zverev, who had already saved four match points against Spaniard Martin Landaluce in his first-round match earlier in the week, found the second round significantly easier. He broke Griekspoor’s serve twice during the match, while the Dutchman failed to record a single break point opportunity. Zverev will face Britain’s Arthur Ferry in the quarter-finals. In Basel, another ATP 500 event saw significant upsets involving top-ranked players. Switzerland’s Jerome Kym, ranked 222nd and playing with a wildcard entry, shocked the world number four, Ben Shelton. The 23-year-old Swiss player won 6-3, 6-7, and 7-6 in two hours and 21 minutes. Kym led 6-5 in the second set with a break point but could not close out the match. In the deciding tie-break, Kym served for the match twice but ultimately lost the set after allowing only one point in the final game. It is Kym’s biggest career victory and his second quarter-final appearance on the ATP tour. He became the first Swiss man to defeat a player from the elite top ten since Stan Wawrinka did so in Stockholm in 2024. Novak Djokovic also exited the Basel tournament in the second round. The Serbian veteran lost to Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in three sets, falling 6-7 (4), 7-5, and 7-6 (5). The match lasted two hours and 37 minutes. Struff, currently ranked 47th, delivered a dominant service performance with 27 aces and did not lose a single service game. He converted all six break point opportunities available to him. Djokovic served 21 aces but managed to convert only two of his three break chances. Struff expressed satisfaction with his aggressive approach, noting that he knew he had to risk everything to overcome Djokovic, who had won their previous eight meetings comfortably. Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the quarter-finals in Basel with a straight-sets victory over Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili, winning 6-4 and 7-5. The Spanish number two will now play American Tommy Paul. Russia’s Daniil Medvedev also reached the last eight after defeating Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie 4-6, 6-3, and 7-6 (1). Ahead of his match in Vienna, Zverev addressed long-standing criticism regarding his playing style and coaching setup. Without explicitly naming names, he referred to a specific critic whose opinions he no longer values. "There was always only one person criticizing me, and honestly, I don't really care about his opinion anymore," Zverev stated. He noted that predictions made by this individual often proved incorrect. The comments appeared directed at former German champion Boris Becker, who had previously criticized Zverev’s reserved tactics and reliance on his father as coach. However, Becker recently defended Zverev in a podcast, stating that the German deserved his success and that reaching number one was not accidental. Becker emphasized that Zverev had beaten opponents better than anyone else this year. Zverev described the feeling of knowing he would be ranked number one as distinct from winning a tournament title. He called it an amazing sensation to see the number one placed next to his name in the upcoming rankings. At 29 years and 196 days old, he is the second-oldest player to debut at the top of the ATP list, behind only Australian John Newcombe, who was 30 when he first reached the summit in 1974. This season marks a breakthrough for Zverev, who has won the French Open and the US Open. He also reached the finals of Wimbledon, losing to Jannik Sinner, and the semi-finals of the Australian Open. These results make him the ninth man in history to reach at least the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single calendar year. His previous best finishes included finals losses in New York in 2020, Paris in 2024, and Melbourne in 2025. With the season ending soon, Zverev will compete in the Masters 1000 event in Paris and the ATP Finals in Turin, where the top eight players will contest the final championship of the year.