Alexander Zverevs ambitious Latin American swing in February 2025 was meant to be a golden opportunity. With Jannik Sinner sidelined until May due to a doping ban, the world No. 2 had a chance to close the 3,195-point gap and position himself to claim the ATP throne as the 30th No. 1.
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Instead, across three consecutive weeks in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, Zverev stumbled. The Germansuffering early exits and collected only four wins and 200 ATP points,missing a critical chance to seize control and move closer to Sinner.
Alexander lost his third Major final in January, falling to Jannik in Melbourne and embracing another setback. While still missing an elusive Major trophy, the German got himself in a good position to challenge the Italian for the ATP throne.
With his rival missing all the action until May, Zverev entered two ATP 500 and one ATP 250 events with high hopes. However, he left them without reaching a semi-final and with poor number of points on his tally.
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Alexander started his campaign in Buenos Aires and fell to Francisco Cerundolo 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. World no. 2 claimed the opener before losing ground and struggling in sets two and three. Zverev turned to Rio de Janeiro and Acapulco, with 1000 ATP points up for grabs.
The German prevailed over two rivals in Rio and entered the last eight. He faced world no. 86 Francisco Comesana and suffered a tough 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat! Alexander dropped the second set but recovered his game in the third and opened a 4-1 advantage.
However, Comesana bounced back and rattled off five games, defeating the Roland Garros finalist and celebrating his first top-10 victory! Zverev ended his swing in Acapulco without displaying his A-game! The top seed passed the first obstacle and met the 19-year-old Learnen Tien in the second round.
The young American stunned world no. 2 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 28 minutes. Tien trailed 4-1 in the second set before rattling off five games and sending the favorite packing. Learnen lost serve once and claimed 41% of the return points.
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He converted three of six break points and moved over the top in style. A teenager controlled the pace from the baseline, forginga48-24 lead and earning a notable win. Thus, world no. 2missed a chance to reduce to gap to Sinner.
The Italian stands 3195 points ahead of the German. Jannik drops 1600 points during his absence, while Alexander collected 850 points between Indian Wells and Madrid last year. The calculation is simple!
Alexander has to claim 2450 ATP points in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Munich and Madrid to overcome Jannik and become world no. 1. Based on his current level, it's a mission impossible. However, everything can change quickly, especially ih he embraced a deep run in Indian Wells.
