“The ranking system doesn't lie”: Alexander Zverev addresses world No. 1 hype ahead of Rome Open defense

Alexander Zverev addressed the criticism he received after missing the opportunity to reach world No. 1 during Jannik Sinner's absence. The 3-time Grand Slam finalist was not happy with the critiques following his failure to secure the necessary points to ascend to the top of the ranking.

Three months ago, the German reached the final of the Australian Open but fell decisively to Jannik Sinner in three sets. After Sinner's two-month suspension became known, Zverev seemed to have a good chance of taking the world No. 1 spot but couldn't accumulate the required points.

Once everything concluded in Melbourne, ‘Sascha’ decided to travel to the Golden Swing in South America, altering his usual February schedule and entering as the clear favorite. He won titles at the Argentina Open and the Rio Open – as the only top-10 player in the draws – but in both, he suffered early defeats, exiting both tournaments in the quarterfinals.

Things didn't improve in the following weeks: a second-round loss at the Mexican Open, a round of 16 exit at the Miami Open, and first-round defeats at Indian Wells and the Monte-Carlo Open, results below expectations for someone who had occupied the world No. 2 ranking for months.

“World No. 1? It would be nice. I don't know. I have not been there. I believe I will. So we'll see how it goes,” stated Zverev during his press conference at the Rome Open. “I do think the media also loves to put players down, right?”

The German was about 3,700 points behind Djokovic but still had four Masters 1000 events and a handful of smaller tournaments ahead to reduce the gap or even take the top ranking. However, he only made it halfway, and today he is 1,645 points behind the leader. Furthermore, the German is defending his title this week, so he cannot gain any points, even if he wins the trophy, making the chance seem increasingly distant.

“I had a bad two months before Munich, right?,” he mentioned, recalling his recent title at his home tournament. “I didn't play great tennis before Munich. All of a sudden I'm like the worst world No. 2 in the world ever. I don't deserve to be there,” he added. “Like I'm there because I won tournaments. I'm there because I have results.”

“The ranking system doesn't lie. You get points for winning matches, you get points for winning titles. Yes, I know I didn't play up to my standard. I know I didn't play up to what I wanted to do. But neither did Carlos. Then he won Monte-Carlo.”

“There are periods in a player's career... Do you think Novak is happy with his results? Do you think Carlos is happy with his results? I'm not happy with my results,” the world No. 2 added. “At the end of the day in big matches, big moments, I still believe the top players will rise. And I still believe that I am going to find my tennis for the biggest tournaments.”

Zverev awaits his debut in the coming days as he seeks to defend his Italian Open title, where he will face the winner between Camilo Ugo Carabelli and a qualifier. A year ago, the German secured his 7th Masters 1000 title, defeating Chilean Nicolas Jarry in the final 6-4, 7-5.