{"id":2171508,"date":"2026-09-30T13:00:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T10:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2171508"},"modified":"2026-09-30T13:00:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T10:00:53","slug":"alexander-zverev-makes-telling-confession-about-world-no-1-ranking-chase-ahead-of-china-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2171508","title":{"rendered":"Alexander Zverev makes telling confession about world No 1 ranking chase ahead of China Open"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Alexander Zverev makes telling confession about world No 1 ranking chase ahead of China Open<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex gap-x-3 gap-y-1 md:gap-x-4 flex-wrap items-center\">\n                        <span class=\"ps-authors flex flex-wrap items-center gap-x-1.5 max-w-full gap-y-0.5 text-sm font-normal text-author\"><span class=\"ps-author-item whitespace-nowrap\"><a class=\"ps-author text-sm font-normal !text-author\" rel=\"author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/ewan-west\">Ewan West<\/a><\/span><\/span>                        <time class=\"flex-shrink-0 text-sm font-normal text-info\" datetime=\"30 Sep 2026 2:00 PM\" data-ps-date=\"30 Sep 2026 2:00 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1790773253\"><br \/>\n                            30 Sep 2026 2:00 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" 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href=\"https:\/\/share.flipboard.com\/bookmarklet\/popout?v=2&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Falexander-zverev-comments-world-no-1-ranking-china-open-2026\" aria-label=\"Share to flipboard\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" 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src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Alexander-Zverev-press-conference-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Alexander Zverev attends a press conference\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Alexander Zverev speaks at a press conference                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/alexander-zverev\">Alexander Zverev<\/a> has addressed the prospect of becoming world No 1 for the first time ahead of his appearance at the 2026 China Open.<\/p>\n<p>The German \u2014 who won both the French Open and US Open this year \u2014 is second in the ATP Rankings with 9,630 points, and he trails world No 1 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/jannik-sinner\">Jannik Sinner<\/a> by 1,370 points.<\/p>\n<p>Zverev has the chance to close the gap to Sinner at the China Open as his Italian rival is not competing this week.<\/p>\n<p>The 29-year-old is currently in pole position to finish 2026 as the world No 1 as he is top of the ATP Race to Turin \u2014 the ranking system that measures points collected in the current season \u2014 with 8,650 points.<\/p>\n<p>Sinner, who has been sidelined since Wimbledon due to a knee injury, is second in the Race with 7,950 points.<\/p>\n<p>During his pre-tournament press conference at the ATP 500 event in Beijing, Zverev was asked about the world No 1 ranking.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q.<\/strong> \u201cThe battle for No 1 is ongoing as the season comes to an end. How much of that is in your mind at the moment? How much of a goal is that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Zverev: <\/strong>\u201cI think it\u2019s a goal for anyone. I think in the beginning of the season everybody expected that battle to be between Carlos and Jannik, so I\u2019m very pleased that I\u2019m in that conversation (smiling).<\/p>\n<h2>More Tennis News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/alexander-zverev-can-become-world-number-one-jannik-sinner-withdrawal\"><strong>The earliest Alexander Zverev can become world No 1 after Jannik Sinner\u2019s latest withdrawal<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/ethan-quinn-predicts-jannik-sinner-injury-comeback-alexander-zverev-no-1-chance\"><strong>Ethan Quinn predicts Jannik Sinner injury comeback as Alexander Zverev handed huge No 1 chance<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course, yeah, there\u2019s some of it in my head. Again, I think I\u2019ve said it so many times this year, the only thing that I can control is play good tennis, play well on the court, try to feel well on the court, try to do everything I can to prepare myself to play good tennis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything else will fall into place. Yeah, in my control, out of my control\u2026 There\u2019s certain factors there, as well. So yeah, I\u2019m just going to try to focus to win the matches that I can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zverev was also asked how his mindset has changed after making his Grand Slam title breakthrough this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think I\u2019ve said it before. I think after winning the French Open, your mind changes because you feel like you\u2019ve won one,\u201d said Zverev.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStraight after the French Open, I made it to the finals of Wimbledon. I really felt like I can win again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore winning your first one, especially at my age, I was 29 years old, I still am 29 years old, you have question marks whether it\u2019s ever going to happen or not.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut those questions marks are not there anymore. As you could probably see on the court, as well, I was enjoying New York a lot more than I was enjoying French Open.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn French Open I had a lot of stress in me. I had a lot of nerves in me. Whereas in New York, I was just enjoying being there. I was enjoying being in the finals of Grand Slams.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really felt different there than I did the previous Grand Slams.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zverev will face Cameron Norrie in the opening round at the China Open.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/tim-henman-calls-rule-change-tennis-carlos-alcaraz-schedule-criticism\">Tim Henman calls for two big changes in tennis after Carlos Alcaraz\u2019s schedule comments<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alexander Zverev makes telling confession about world No 1 ranking chase ahead of China Open Ewan West 30 Sep 2026 2:00 PM Alexander Zverev speaks at a press conference Alexander Zverev has addressed the prospect of becoming world No 1 for the first time ahead of his appearance at the 2026 China Open. The German [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-2171508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2171508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2171508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2171508\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2171508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2171508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2171508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}