Alexander Zverev’s first match after officially becoming world No. 1 ended in defeat, as Lorenzo Musetti beat him 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the second round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday. The match lasted one hour and 40 minutes.
Zverev secured the ranking from Jannik Sinner at last week’s Vienna Open, where he reached the semi-finals before losing to Alex De Minaur. He is only the second German to reach No. 1, after Boris Becker.
The loss also puts Zverev in an unusual group: he is the fifth player to lose his next match after being confirmed as world No. 1. The others named in the record are John McEnroe, Thomas Muster, Lleyton Hewitt and Carlos Alcaraz.
McEnroe lost to Jose-Luis Clerc in a Davis Cup tie five days after taking the top spot in March 1980, then also fell to Guillermo Vilas. Muster was beaten by Sandon Stolle in his next match after becoming No. 1 in February 1996. Hewitt’s first match after reaching the summit in November 2001 ended in a Davis Cup loss to Nicolas Escude, while Alcaraz lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime in a Davis Cup tie in September 2022.
Before the Paris tournament, Zverev had a 3-9 record against top-10 opponents in 2026, described in the source report as the worst such record for a world No. 1 in the Open Era. He said before the event that he had enjoyed a strong season but still had goals to pursue, including competing more effectively with Alcaraz and Sinner.
Zverev had lost all six of his meetings with those two players in 2026. He also said he felt better equipped to challenge at all four Grand Slam tournaments after playing on grass for the first time in his career this year. Following his Paris exit, he is set to take a short rest before the ATP Finals, scheduled for the week after next, according to the report.
Sources: Tennis365.