Alexander Zverev is not happy about being ranked lower than Roger Federer and called the temporarily revised ATP rankings system a ‘disaster’.
“I am the biggest Roger Federer’s fan, but he has not played for a year and he is higher ranked than me. I played a Grand Slam final, a Masters 1000 final,” Zverev said ahead of the ATP event in Acapulco.
“The system is just a disaster.”
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The 23-year-old German is currently ranked No 7 in the world, one place below 20-time champion Federer.
The FedEx ATP Rankings were first adjusted in early summer from the traditional 12-month ranking to a Best of 24-month ranking due to the pandemic.
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In March, the ATP extended the ‘Best Of’ logic for the ATP Rankings through to the week of 9 August 2021 (inclusive of Toronto). Results from events between 4 March – 5 August, 2019, that were not played in 2020, will be extended a further 52 weeks, but weighted at 50%.
Zverev reached the final of the 2020 US Open, an event that saw big names like Rafael Nadal, Federer and Stan Wawrinka missing in action due to various reasons. The German also reached the final of the Paris Masters in November.
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Meanwhile, Federer was forced out of action for more than 13 months due to knee surgeries. The 39-year-old marked his comeback at the Qatar Open last week. The last tournament he had competed in before that was the 2020 Australian Open, where he made the semi-finals.
A similar ranking freeze in women’s tennis has seen Ashleigh Barty remain at No 1 despite not playing for almost a year. The 2019 French Open champion did not return to the tour when action resumed in August.
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Barty played her first match in almost a year when she featured in the Yarra Valley Classic in Melbourne, ahead of the 2021 Australian Open.
Daniil Medvedev is World No 2
On Monday, Daniil Medvedev leapfrogged Nadal to seize No. 2 in the ATP Rankings. He became the first player not named Federer, Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray to occupy that spot in almost 15 years.
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Lleyton Hewitt, who was ranked No 2 on July 25, 2005, was the last player to do so.
For good measure, Medvedev celebrated the milestone one day earlier by winning his 10th title at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.
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“I am really happy,” he said. “I knew that I would become No. 2… [but] it is always better when you step up the rankings when you do something great… it is great for the self-esteem that just before becoming No. 2 on Monday, I win a tournament.”
