Germany's Zverev becomes tennis world No. 1

Alexander Zverev accelerated his ascension to number one in the world rankings for the first time in his career on Thursday as he beat Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals of the Vienna Open. The 29-year-old German was already assured of finishing the season top of the ATP rankings but, in the absence of current incumbent Jannik Sinner, two-time Grand Slam champion Zverev will now take that crown in next week's updated standings after winning his opening two matches in the Austrian capital. Long seen as tennis' nearly-man, Zverev has enjoyed a stellar 2026, breaking his major duck by picking up the titles at the French and US Opens. Now he has broken further ground by becoming only the 30th man to claim top spot since the rankings were first published in 1973. He will be aged 29 years and 196 days when Monday's new rankings are published, making him the second-oldest first-time number one after Australian John Newcombe. Due to a knee injury, Italy's Sinner decided to end his season at the start of October, opening the way for Zverev to dethrone him. And the big-serving Hamburg native ensured he did just that ahead of the season-ending ATP Finals next month by seeing...