It is Alexander Zverev's first tournament as number one in the tennis world. At the Masters in Paris, the Hamburg native wants to show that he is rightly the best in the world. Previously, a number of legends of his sport congratulated the two-time Grand Slam winner on this success. He is the 30th professional to take the place in the sun.
At the award ceremony in Paris, a video was recorded in which the luminaries conveyed their congratulations. Above all, Pete Sampras, who went into hiding for decades. The now 55-year-old American only resurfaced two weeks ago as part of the Amazon Prime documentary “Aces: The ATP No. 1 Club”. A goosebumps moment.
“I’ve been a big fan of yours since you started,” says Sampras in the congratulatory video for Zverev. "I see how you develop every year, but to see the full breakthrough this year was exciting - and you deserve it. You did everything right, work hard. So congratulations to you and your team, all very deserved. Good luck for the rest of the year. And I hope to see you at some point."
Zverev's immediate predecessor as number 1, Jannik Sinner, is also there: "I congratulate you, your family and your team on this incredible year. Enjoy it - and I hope we see each other very soon," says the injured Italian.
Who Zverev sees regularly is Rafael Nadal. The German trains from time to time at his academy in Mallorca. “I know how hard you worked for this great achievement,” Nadal now says. "You achieved all your goals this year - finally! Two Grand Slams, world number 1, I'm very happy for you. All the best for the future."
Someone who has known Zverev for a very long time is Jim Courier. The 56-year-old now works as a TV expert. "Sascha, I saw you training with your brother in Florida when you were ten. And now I look at the world rankings and see you at the top of the mountain. Congratulations on a very deserved number 1," says Courir.
The oldest well-wisher is Jimmy Connors (74), the third player in history to become number 1. That was in 1974. Addressing Zverev, he says: "This is a very special group that you have now joined. What a summer you had with the victories at the French Open and US Open! Keep working like that, I will follow it."
The Austrian Thomas Muster recalls Zverev's serious injury in the semi-finals of the French Open 2022, when he sprained and was out for six months. “Winning two Grand Slams and being number 1 in the world is the pinnacle for a tennis player,” says the 59-year-old. "You've played so well all these years and have been knocking on this door for a while. You came back from an injury and then did so well. You're very likeable, a great guy, you played often in Vienna, so we were able to get to know each other a little. Keep it up, we'll see a lot more from you."
The Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten was the funniest player. “As I know, you speak Portuguese very well,” he says with a laugh. He then added in Portuguese: “That’s great!” And further in English: "What a journey, what an achievement. You deserve everything." And still laughs.
Spicy: Juan Carlos Ferrero, one of Zverev's ex-coaches, is also among the well-wishers. “I know you worked very hard to get to the No. 1 club,” Ferrero said. “Enjoy, welcome to the club, see you!” And that's for sure, because the Spaniard, who criticized Zverev's lack of discipline and therefore separated from him, will coach 24-year-old Ben Shelton in the future. He also wants to be number 1.
By the way: Boris Becker, who had just explained in an interview why, in his opinion, Zverev was not a crowd favorite, was missing from the crowd of well-wishers on the video. In the "Spiegel" interview, the 58-year-old listed three points as to why Zverev did not win hearts: his silence on the Russian war of aggression - Zverev's parents come from Russia - his harsh-looking interviews in German - his English ones had more wit and charm - and his three gold chains - always a topic, says Becker.
