Zverev lost again. Sinner close to remaining king until his return

Jannik Sinner wins even without playing. After Zverev's defeat at Indian Wells, the South Tyrolean champion is ever closer to the arithmetic certainty of being able to return after the suspension agreed with Wada still on the throne of number 1 of the ATP ranking. Only one last possibility can prevent this: that Carlos Alcaraz win the Indian Wells tournament, remaining in the running for an overtaking that would still be theoretical and incomplete.

The inconsistency of his opponents continues to be Sinner's best ally. The elimination of the number 1 seed Alexander Zverev from Indian Wells, defeated in his debut by the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 4-6 7-6 7-6, has taken the German out of the running for a hypothetical overtaking, who continues to suffer disappointments after the Australian Open. "I have to find my game before thinking about the ranking. To become the world number one, you have to win tournaments and so far I have not gone beyond the first or second round", commented Zverev.

Technically, Sinner has gained points on Zverev while standing still, and in any case he will surely be at the top of the rankings until April 21. Alcaraz (who faced the Frenchman Halys on the Italian night) can still dislodge him, but he cannot fail because any result lower than the victory in Indian Wells, where he triumphed last year, would make him lose points instead of gaining them.

The Azzurri are also smiling for the results of Lorenzo Musetti and Matteo Berrettini: the Carrara native, n. 16 in the world ranking, beat Roman Safiullin (n.7) 5-5, 7-6, 2-69, returning after the injury that forced Musetti to skip Acapulco. Now on Lorenzo's path is the Frenchman Arthur Fils (21), while Berrettini (29) defeated the Australian Cristopher O'Connell (75) 6-2, 7-6, scoring his first victory in Indian Wells since 2022, when he reached the eighth-finals. Now the opponent in the third round is called Stefanos Tsitsipas, who recently beat Berrettini in the quarter-finals in Dubai.

Fourth seed Casper Ruud also did badly, defeated by the American Marcos Giron 7-6 3-6 6-2.