Zverev divides professional tennis into two eras. The "Big 3" era spanned roughly the first 20 years of the 21st century. In recent years, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have risen to prominence, winning a combined 9 Grand Slams. Notably, these two "10x" generation players have claimed the last seven major titles.
Zverev considers himself part of the Alcaraz-Sinner era. "We have ATP champions ranked 30th in the world. That wasn't the case when I started," Mundo Deportivo quoted the German player. "In the Big 3 era, the top 5 players never had to worry about the 25th-ranked player. Now, everything has changed."
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Zverev during his loss to Novak Djokovic in the Roland Garros quarterfinals, Paris, France, 4/6/2025. Photo: Reuters |
Zverev during his loss to Novak Djokovic in the Roland Garros quarterfinals, Paris, France, 4/6/2025. Photo: Reuters
After Grand Slams, the nine Masters tournaments offer the most ranking points (1,000) on the ATP tour. Besides Alcaraz and Sinner each winning two, the remaining five Masters titles were distributed among Zverev (Paris Masters), Alexei Popyrin (Canada), Casper Ruud (Madrid), Jakub Mensik (Miami), and Jack Draper (Indian Wells). The lowest-ranked player in this group is currently the 19-year-old Mensik, at number 24.
Born in 1997, Zverev won his first professional match at 15 in 2012. At 17, he won a Challenger tournament. The German player secured his first ATP Tour title at 19, at the 2016 St. Petersburg Open. Zverev recalls that during this period, Masters champions were consistently among the top-ranked players globally, including Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Andy Murray.
However, even then, there were occasional surprises at ATP 1000 events, such as Jack Sock's triumph at the 2017 Paris Masters as the 16th seed, and Karen Khachanov's unseeded victory at the 2018 Paris Masters.
Today, many experts believe Alcaraz and Sinner are significantly ahead of the rest, even Djokovic. But Zverev asserts he's not far behind. "Alcaraz is a true star and brings tremendous energy to the court. Sinner is also formidable," the world number three said. "I just hope I can disrupt their party a little bit. And I believe I can."
Compiled by Hoang An
