Alexander Zverev had a massive chance to become the 30th world no. 1 following Jannik Sinner's suspension. However, the German is not in a position to think about achieving the ultimate honor after losing five of the previous nine matches!
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Zverev suffered an early Indian Wells exit to Tallon Griekspoor. World no. 2 lost crucial points in his chase with Sinner and blasted his performance over the previous couple of weeks, calling his game terrible.
Alexander is still in contention to dethroning Jannik before the Italian's return in May. However, he needs to conquer one of the upcoming three Masters 1000 events, reach the final at the other two and enter the title clash at the ATP 500 event in Munich!
That seems highly unlikely at the moment, and the three-time beaten Major finalist wants to focus on improving his level and reaching the latter stages of tournaments. Zverev lost to Sinner in the Australian Open final.
The Italian left competition for three months due to his doping ban, and the German started his chase in Latin America. Instead of moving closer to the world's best player, Alexander experienced setbacks in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Acapulco.
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Zverev collected four wins and 200 ATP points, staying miles behind the Italian! He chased his first title of the season in Buenos Aires and fell to Francisco Cerundolo 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the quarter-final. The favorite claimed the opener before losing ground and hitting the exit door.
The German left the setback behind and set his eyes on 1000 ATP points in Rio and Acapulco. He scored two wins in Rio before falling to world no. 86 Francisco Comesana 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. It was a massive blow for world no. 2!
Alexander claimed the opener and led 4-1 in the final set. Instead of toppling the lower-ranked opponent, Alexander dropped the final five games and propelled his rival toward his first top-10 victory. Zverev did not feel well in Acapulco, and it reflected on his campaign.
The top seed reached the second round and faced the 19-year-old Learnen Tien. The American stunned the German 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 28 minutes, keeping Alexander away from much-needed ATP points.
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Like Comesana in Rio, Tien rattled off five games in the second set, moving over the top in style and leaving the favorite empty-handed. Even with this loss, Zverev still had a chance to pass Sinner with a strong Masters 1000 run in March in April.
Instead, world no. 2 fell to Tallon Griekspoor in the second round in Indian Wells for another major blow. The Dutchman scored a hard-fought 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 triumphin three hours and seven minutes, earning his first top-5 victory.
Alexander claimed the opener and rattled off five games in the second set from 2-5. The German served for the win and suffered a break at the worst moment. Griekspoor claimed the tie break and forced a decider.
Zverev lost serve at 5-5 and endured the ultimate test in game 12. World no. 2 saved five match points at 5-6 and grabbed a break to introduce a deciding tie break. However, Tallon kept his composure and claimed it 7-4 to send his rival packing.
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"Earlier, I thought about becoming world no. 1. Now I do not think about that too much because I'm playing terribly. I have to rediscover my game before thinking about conquering the ATP throne. To become world no. 1, you have to win tournaments.
At the moment, I'm losing in the first or second match, and I have to fix that first," Alexander Zverev said.
