Zverev to become new world number one in tennis

Alexander Zverev is set to become the new world number one in tennis on Monday. 

Having reached the quarter-finals at the tournament in Vienna, the Hamburg-born player will replace Italy’s Jannik Sinner and become the second German man, after Boris Becker, to take the top spot.

Zverev is only the 30th tennis player to top the ATP world rankings, which were introduced in 1973. 

The last German male tennis player to hold the top spot was Becker, some 35 years ago. Among German female tennis players, only Steffi Graf and Angelique Kerber have achieved this in the WTA rankings.

"[It is] very special. To have the feeling to be on the top of the world is amazing," Zverev said on the ATP website.

"It is different than winning a tournament or a title, but it's such a special feeling to know that the number one is going to be next to your name when the new rankings come out."

Zverev has won many of the biggest titles in the sport, including an Olympic gold medal and seven ATP Masters 1000 trophies. This season, he won his first Grand Slam at the French Open and topped that up with the US Open win. 

ATP said Zverev would become the second-oldest player to reach world number one for the first time. Aged 29 years, six months, he will only trail Australian John Newcombe, who was 30 years old when he became number one in 1974.