Alexander Zverev has to be worried as his slide in form shows no sign of coming to an end – and the big winners could be Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper.
Carlos Alcaraz has already overtaken Zverev in the ATP Rankings after his win in last week’s Monte Carlo Masters, yet the bigger concern for Zverev must be a slump in form that he will not have seen coming.
Zverev’s defeat in the Australian Open final against Jannik Sinner in January clearly stung, with the emotion he showed after that defeat highlighting a fear that he may be further away from winning a major title than ever before.
That grim reality may have played a part in Zverev’s dip in fortunes since that humbling experience in Melbourne.
With Sinner and Alcaraz so tough to beat on hard courts and his struggles to find his best form on grass at Wimbledon a long-running problem, Zverev appeared to target the French Open as his most likely route to Grand Slam glory in 2025.
He confirmed as much by playing in clay court events in South America in February, where big appearance fee money may also have been part of the appeal of signing up for those tournaments.
Whatever his motivation, his poor results on the court added to his woes and disappointing early exits at the Indian Wells and Miami Masters added to his woes.
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He went into the Monte Carlo Masters as the top seed, but was beaten in his first match by Matteo Berrettini, with his concerns over his form evident in his post-match comments.
“I have not won many matches. So it’s been the worst period since my injury last few months,” he stated, referencing the major ankle injury he suffered in his French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal in 2022.
“I’m losing, it’s as simple as that. You win one or two matches like this, there are no more questions in my mind, but I keep losing.
“I lost three sets in Buenos Aires, I lost three sets in Rio, I lost three sets in Indian Wells, I lost three sets in Miami, I lost three sets here [Monte Carlo], and I didn’t win a single one. So that’s the matter.
“I have no idea what’s happening to me right now. I have been trying to understand it for several months, but I don’t even know what to say anymore. I don’t know. All I know is that I’m losing matches, nothing more.”
Zverev will now take his creaking game to Munich, where he will play in an ATP 500 tournament in front of his home fans, with a slightly weaker field giving him a chance to find his best form once again.
When Sinner confirmed he was accepting a three-month suspension from tennis following his doping violation, there was an expectation that Zverev would have a shot at taking the world No 1 ranking for the first time.
Since then, Zverev’s record makes for grim reading as he has lost six of his last 11 matches.
That is not the record of a player contending to be the world No 1 or even competing in the top ten of the men’s game and with 1,000 ranking points dropping off his record next month from his win at last year’s Rome Masters, Zverev needs to find his form quickly to avoid a rankings slide.
Taylor Fritz is currently in fourth place in the ATP Rankings, with the 1,000 points coming off Zverev’s record from his win in Rome last year set to push the American close to his German rival.
Djokovic is next in the ATP rankings at No 5 and with limited points to defend over the next few weeks, the 24-time Grand Slam king could haul in Zverev if he shines at the Madrid and Rome ATP 1000 events.
The Serbain will be keen to avoid a meeting with Alcaraz or and world No 1 Jannik Sinner before the semi-finals at Roland Garros and boosting his ranking is the best way to do just that.
Indian Wells champion Draper is also a contender to leap up the rankings over the next few weeks, as he looks to find his form on clay.
Zverev will want to stay in the top four of the rankings going into the French Open as that would ensure he avoids an early meeting with defending champion Alcaraz and Sinner, but he is in danger of a big rankings slide until he finds some winning tennis quickly.
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