Alexander Zverev closing in on Andy Murray and McEnroe after Paris Masters glory

Zverev picked up his 23rd career title and second of the year in Paris-Bercy over the weekend. The third seed seized his opportunity when the draw fell apart, with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner pulling out and Carlos Alcaraz being upset in the round of 16.

The 27-year-old produced a clinical performance to break the Parisian fans’ hearts, beating Humbert 6-2 6-2 as the French No. 1 looked to become the first home champion of the tournament since 2011.

Thanks to his efforts at the last Masters 1000 of the year, Zverev jumped to No. 2 in the world. It means he cannot face top-ranked Sinner in the round-robin stage of the upcoming ATP Finals.

Meanwhile Alcaraz, who dropped to No. 3, is in danger of being drawn in the same group as Sinner, making it harder to reach the knockout semi-finals.

It’s not the only milestone Zverev reached with his run in Bercy. The German is guaranteed to finish the season inside the world’s top 10 for the seventh time, matching the likes of David Ferrer and seven-time Major winner Mats Wilander.

The world No. 2 could go on to surpass greats of the game like Murray and John McEnroe. The Brit had nine year-end finishes in the top-10 throughout his career while McEnroe did it 10 times.

With players like Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal now playing well into their late 30s, 27-year-old Zverev will likely have plenty of time to catch Murray and McEnroe.

But it will be tough to match the Big Three. Roger Federer and Nadal have finished inside the top 10 on 18 occasions while Djokovic has now done it 17 times.

And it’s not the only category Zverev will want to match and surpass Murray in. He is now tied in eighth place for most Masters 1000 titles. Both Zverev and Michael Chang have seven trophies at the top ATP tier.

Pete Sampras sits above them with 11 Masters titles while Murray has 14 and Andre Agassi has 17. Once again, the Big Three lead the pack – Djokovic has 40 Masters trophies, Nadal has 36 and Federer has 28.

Zverev will hope to carry his form into the upcoming ATP Finals, where he is a two-time former champion. He won the 2018 year-end championships in London and the 2021 edition in Turin.