Zverev’s tenure as No. 1 begins with ‘bad’ loss

Alexander Zverev’s tenure as the No. 1 in men’s tennis started with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 defeat to Lorenzo Musetti on Wednesday in the second round of the Paris Masters.

“Yeah, I was bad. It’s quite simple,” Zverev said. “This was not a very good match for me, I think maybe one of the worst in the last couple of months.”

He was followed out of the tournament by record seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, who lost 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 to qualifier Rinky Hijikata of Australia.

Germany’s Alexander Zverev reacts during his men’s singles match against Lorenzo Musetti of Italy at the Paris Masters at the Plenitude Arena on Wednesday.

Photo: AFP

Seven-time major winner Carlos Alcaraz avoided any such problems and overcame a slow start with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 win over American Alex Michelsen.

The 23-year-old Alcaraz extended his winning streak to six matches and faces Matteo Berrettini in the next round.

The 10th-seeded Djokovic looked in control against Hijikata, but lost three straight games from 3-3 in the second set. He remonstrated with his team at the start of the third set and dropped his serve in the seventh game. The 24-time major winner was broken again and lost the match when his backhand landed wide.

Australia’s Rinky Hijikata celebrates after beating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in their men’s singles match at the Paris Masters at the Plenitude Arena on Wednesday.

Photo: EPA

Djokovic needed to reach the semi-finals to stand a chance of qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals later this month. Only two spots remain for the Nov. 15 to 22 event in Turin, Italy.

Zverev said that he should have done much better on such a rapid court suited to his aggressive stroke play.

“The court was very, very fast,” he said. “I actually think that this is the court that it should be.”

Zverev moved to the top ranking on Monday, capping off a fine season that saw him win the first two Grand Slam titles of his career at the French Open and the US Open.

Despite those successes, the 29-year-old Zverev sounded agitated and described feeling “a bit annoyed” about what he perceives as not getting enough credit compared to others.

“The No. 1 status is something that I think every player dreams of, but then I feel like I’m the only world No. 1 in tennis history that has to explain why it’s okay for me to be world No. 1, which I find quite difficult because I think I deserve to be where I am,” he said.

Zverev looked out of sorts throughout against Musetti.

The mercurial Italian clinched victory with an ace in a one-sided contest where he had more winners (29-25) and fewer unforced errors (12-21) than Zverev.

In other second-round play, three-time US Open semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe — seeded No. 7 — wasted four match points in a 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7/9) loss to Frenchman Quentin Halys.

Tiafoe’s defeat qualified Arthur Fils for the ATP Finals. He is the first Frenchman to reach the event since Gael Monfils in 2016.

Fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev lost 6-4, 6-4 to Ignacio Buse.

In India, Taiwan’s Joanna Garland exited in the round of 16 at the WTA250 Chennai Open.

Garland was beaten 7-6 (7/1), 6-1 by Janice Tjen of Indonesia at the SDAT Tennis Stadium.