Alexander Zverev asked his rivals to “be quiet” as they addressed the media ahead of the ATP Finals.

The world No. 2 heads up the John Newcombe group at the season-ending championships, which also includes Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev.

Once touted as one of the sport’s bright young prospects, Zverev is the second-oldest man in Turin this year and he confronted his competitors when they admitted he was “old”.

This is the first time since 2001 that none of the Big Three are in the final eight field at the ATP Finals. With Roger Federer retired and Rafael Nadal joining him this month, Novak Djokovic was the last hope to keep the streak alive.

He qualified for the tournament but pulled out. It means that Zverev and Daniil Medvedev are the most experienced players in this year’s field. At 28, Medvedev is the oldest man in the draw.

They are also the only former champions – the Russian lifted the trophy in 2020 and Zverev has won it twice. And Zverev was taken aback when he realised he was one of the veterans this year.

During a joint press conference with the rest of the John Newcombe group, the German was asked what it was like to be the most experienced. “Am I the most experienced?” he replied.

“I think I played the Finals the most out of everyone. F*** I feel old.”

The German’s rivals agreed with him. Off-camera, Ruud and Rublev were laughing at the end of the table. Rublev added: “You are”.

They continued their antics as Zverev tried to discuss Djokovic’s absence and the world No. 2 stepped in. “Can you be quiet?” he joked.

Ruud quipped: “We’re quiet, we don’t get any questions so you go ahead.” When Zverev offered him a chance to answer the question, the Norwegian added: “No, we enjoy sitting here.”

While none of the Big Three are in this year’s draw, the players are well aware that they could have been facing Djokovic. “I think it’s strange to not see Novak here just because of all the success he had and for me, he’s still one of the best players in the world,” Zverev continued.

“I mean, he qualified for this event, right? He just chose not to play it.”

Zverev will begin his ATP Finals campaign against Rublev on Monday while Alcaraz faces Ruud.

The Ilie Nastase group will be in action on Sunday. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner takes on Alex de Minaur and former champion Medvedev will meet Taylor Fritz.