Zverev two wins from World No. 1 as he opens Vienna against Landaluce

For most of his career Alexander Zverev has been the best player never to sit at the top of the rankings. This week in Vienna he can change that. The top seed at the Erste Bank Open needs to reach the quarter-finals, which means winning two matches, to be guaranteed the World No. 1 ranking when the new list comes out on Monday, 2 November.

His first opponent is Spanish wildcard Martín Landaluce. If Zverev gets through, he will play the winner of the first-round match between Tallon Griekspoor, who won the title in Brussels on Sunday, and Brandon Nakashima, who reached the final in Montreal.

Sinner's absence opens the door

It's only a matter of time before the German takes over. Jannik Sinner has not played since winning Wimbledon in July, where he beat Zverev in the final. The Italian has now officially ended his 2026 season. "Me, together with the doctors have decided that I need a course of treatment for my knee, which means that the 2026 season is officially over," Sinner said. Sinner won the Vienna title last year and won't be there to defend it, so he loses those points along with everything he earned at the end of last season.

The ATP has already confirmed that Zverev has clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking, so Vienna only decides when he moves to the top. In Monday's rankings, reported by Eurosport, Sinner had 10,450 points and Zverev 9,750, a gap of 700.

A historic season for the German

Zverev, 29, has had the best year of his career. He won his first two Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros and the US Open and also reached the Wimbledon final. When he reaches No. 1, he will be only the second German man to top the rankings, after Boris Becker in 1991. According to the ATP, he will also be the 30th member of the No. 1 club and the first new one since Sinner joined in June 2024.

He comes to Austria after a short break. Zverev said he had felt "empty" during the Asian swing and "very, very tired mentally" in China. "I took five days off, played a bit of golf and didn't touch the tennis racquet. That did me very good," he said before the tournament.

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Novak Djokovic recently said Zverev was "the best player in the world at the moment for sure, on a huge run and confidence roll".

A strong field in Vienna

This is no easy week, even for the top seed. Carlos Alcaraz, playing Vienna for the first time since 2021, is the second seed and opens against Karen Khachanov. Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, Alex de Minaur, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul are also in the draw. Going by the seedings, Zverev's projected quarter-final opponent is Tiafoe.

After Vienna, Zverev plans to play the Paris Masters, the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin and the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna. He hopes to go into all three as world No. 1, and his first step is the match against Landaluce at the Wiener Stadthalle.