Musetti beats Zverev in Paris in German’s first match as world number one

Alexander Zverev lost his first match as world number one on Wednesday, falling 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 to Lorenzo Musetti at the Paris Masters. BBC Sport reported that the German had received the trophy marking his rise to the top of the ATP rankings on Monday. A first-round bye meant the meeting with the Italian was his opening match of the tournament.

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Musetti won the opening set in a tie-break before taking the second 6-2 to complete a straight-sets victory. Zverev was critical of his own performance afterwards, saying his opponent had played well while he had played poorly. He described the match as among his weakest performances in recent months, bringing a disappointing start to his time at the summit of the rankings.

The defeat followed a season in which the 29-year-old won his first two Grand Slam titles, at the French Open and US Open. He also reached the Wimbledon final, losing to Jannik Sinner. Those major results have come during a year disrupted by injuries for both Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who had shared the nine Grand Slam titles preceding this year’s French Open.

According to BBC Sport, Sinner has not competed since Wimbledon because of a knee injury and has slipped to second in the rankings. Alcaraz missed substantial portions of the season with a wrist injury. Zverev has lost his past 10 matches against Sinner, who also beat him in the previous year’s Australian Open final, and four of his past five meetings with Alcaraz.

Zverev’s results this year show a marked contrast between opponents inside and outside the top 10. BBC Sport put his record against players ranked 11th or lower at 62 wins and eight defeats. Against top-10 opponents, he has won three of 12 matches. Wednesday’s Paris exit adds a defeat to a week otherwise defined by his first ascent to number one.

Zverev also expressed frustration with the reaction to that milestone, saying he felt required to justify his position. He did not identify the specific issues behind that frustration. Despite the loss to Musetti, he maintained that he deserved the ranking, describing reaching number one as an ambition shared by every player.