Bertolucci is blunt about Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev

In 2026, Alexander Zverev took it all: the first two Grand Slam titles of his career and the No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings. Many point to the absences of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, but according to Paolo Bertolucci, the German tennis player deserves the recognition he’s earned for reaching such heights.

“He’s not a usurper of the throne,” Bertolucci wrote in *La Gazzetta dello Sport*. “In tennis, you also need the luck to be ready when an opportunity arises. He succeeded. Life has given him back, at perhaps the most unexpected moment, what it had previously taken away from him.”

At the start of the year, Zverev seemed powerless against both Alcaraz and Sinner: “But he never denied himself the chance to compete with the best; he was always there, right behind the top players. And the two Grand Slam victories certainly enhance his career and give his entire journey a different significance.”

“It’s true—probably, if it hadn’t been for the injuries and, above all, if Sinner and Alcaraz hadn’t emerged, he wouldn’t have had to wait so long to claim the world No. 1 throne. But tennis is a game of give and take. Failing to carry on the legacy of the Big Three took a significant psychological toll, compounded by a couple of lost Grand Slam finals—even after entering the court as the favorite.”