Tennis-Sublime Musetti stuns world number one Zverev at Paris Masters

Tennis - ATP 1000 Masters - Paris Masters - Plenitude Arena, Nanterre, France - November 4, 2026 Italy's Lorenzo Musetti celebrates after winning his round of 32 match against Germany's Alexander Zverev REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

PARIS, Nov 4 (Reuters) - World ⁠number one Alexander Zverev's reign at the top of the rankings ⁠got off to a disappointing start on Wednesday as Italy's ‌Lorenzo Musetti upset the German top seed 7-6(5) 6-2 in the Paris Masters round of 32.

The 29-year-old, who climbed to number one on Monday, suffered surprise defeat days after ​losing to Australia's Alex de Minaur in the ⁠Vienna Open semi-finals.

Musetti, a former ⁠world number five, seized the initiative by winning six of the final ⁠seven ‌points of the opening-set tiebreak before taking command of the second set.

The 24-year-old Italian broke Zverev for a 2-1 lead and ⁠struck again to move 5-2 ahead on his way ​to victory.

World number ‌24 Musetti, a former French Open and Wimbledon semi-finalist, fired 29 ⁠winners and ​eight aces during the one-hour, 40-mnute contest to improve his head-to-head record against Zverev to 4-2.

"It's pretty shocking the level I was able to play in ⁠front of Sascha, who was serving really well, ​especially in the first set," Musetti said.

"It was really close. It could have gone both ways."

The win continued a resurgence for Musetti, who has been ⁠hampered by injuries throughout the 2026 season. His toughest setback came at the Australian Open, where he retired while leading 24-times Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic by two sets in their quarter-final.

Musetti ended a four-year wait ​for a title in Lyon last month.

Zverev has ⁠enjoyed a breakthrough season, capturing his maiden Grand Slam title at the ​French Open before adding a second major ‌crown at the US Open.

He has secured ​his place at the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin this month.

(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)

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网球 - ATP 1000大师赛 - 巴黎大师赛 - 法国楠泰尔普伦蒂德球场 - 2026年11月4日 意大利选手洛伦佐·穆塞蒂在32强赛中战胜德国选手亚历山大·兹维列夫后庆祝胜利。（路透社/贝诺伊特·泰西耶摄）

巴黎，11 月 4 日（路透社）——世界排名第一的亚历山大·兹维列夫周三在巴黎大师赛 32 强赛中以 7-6(5) 6-2 的比分爆冷击败头号种子、意大利选手洛伦佐·穆塞蒂，结束了他在世界排名第一的统治。

这位29岁的选手周一登上了世界第一的宝座，但在维也纳公开赛半决赛输给澳大利亚选手亚历克斯·德米纳尔几天后，却意外地遭遇了失利。

前世界排名第五的穆塞蒂在首盘抢七局中赢下最后七分中的六分，从而掌握了主动权，并在第二盘中占据了优势。

这位 24 岁的意大利选手破发兹维列夫，以 2-1 领先，随后再次破门，以 5-2 领先，最终赢得比赛。

世界排名第 24 位的穆塞蒂曾是法国网球公开赛和温布尔登网球公开赛的半决赛选手，他在 1 小时 40 分钟的比赛中打出 29 个制胜分和 8 个 ace 球，将他与兹维列夫的交锋记录提高到 4-2。

“萨沙发球非常好，尤其是在第一盘，但我还能发挥出这样的水平，这让我感到非常惊讶，”穆塞蒂说。

“比赛非常接近，胜负难料。”

这场胜利延续了穆塞蒂的复苏势头，他在2026赛季一直受到伤病困扰。他遭遇的最沉重打击是在澳网，当时他在四分之一决赛中领先24届大满贯冠军诺瓦克·德约科维奇两盘的情况下退赛。

穆塞蒂上个月在里昂结束了长达四年的冠军荒。

兹维列夫迎来了一个突破性的赛季，先是在法网公开赛上夺得了他的首个大满贯冠军，随后又在美网公开赛上斩获了他的第二个大满贯冠军。

他已锁定本月在都灵举行的ATP年终总决赛的参赛资格。

（Pearl Josephine Nazare在班加罗尔报道，Ed Osmond编辑）

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