Alexander Zverev will play his first match since becoming the world number one at the Paris Masters this week.
Zverev officially rose above Jannik Sinner in the rankings to become the new world number one on Monday, having confirmed the feat at the Vienna Open. The German became the first man from his country to clinch the top spot since Boris Becker, following a stellar year on the ATP Tour. Zverev secured his first two Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros and the US Open in 2026, as well as reaching the final of Wimbledon.
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His first opponent at the Paris Masters comes in the form of Lorenzo Musetti, who has a winning record in their head-to-head.
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Lorenzo Musetti speaks about facing Alexander Zverev in Paris
Musetti leads Zverev 3-2 at tour-level events, having beaten him three times in a row from 2024 to 2025. Zverev came out on top in their most recent meeting, however, which came at the Vienna Open last season.
Speaking on Tennis Channel ahead of their sixth career bout, Musetti said of Zverev: “We always played really great battles, and we both know each other pretty well. We practiced together many times; we faced many times in different situations, on different surfaces and of course a lot of things changed.
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“I think he gained a lot more confidence this year, you know, winning two majors and finally getting the number one in the world. So I know how hard-working Sascha is. I’m happy for him because he totally deserve this position, so it will be an extra motivation for me to kind of try to beat the new number one in the world.”
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Lorenzo Musetti said his triumph in Lyon surprised him
Musetti recently captured his first title in four years at the Lyon Open, beating Taylor Fritz in the final to secure the trophy. “It was a little bit unexpected for sure,” he said of the triumph. “But I felt that, you know, all the practice, the nice practices that I have been doing and the hard work, in a way, it was just a click.
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“Saving match points in the semifinals and having that incredibly long match with Van Assche in the quarters. So it was sort of recognition of the hard work that I’ve been putting in, and of course it was a really tough season for me, a lot of injuries, a lot of moments that, you know, I had to face a lot of downs and a lot of frustration.
“I think I kind of found my confidence back and for sure I played one of the best matches in the final with Taylor and so yeah, at the beginning of the week it was totally unexpected, but then at the end I felt that I kind of deserved that title.”
Musetti, who reached a career-high ranking of world number five earlier this year, has dropped to 24th amid an injury-ridden season.