There have been plenty of young tennis players who have made a leap this year, but few have been more consistent than Alexander Zverev. Earlier today, Zverev punched his ticket to the Rolex Paris Masters finals after defeating Holger Rune.

After today’s victory, Zverev surpassed Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP rankings. Going into tomorrow’s finals in Paris, Zverev will be the World No. 2 with a record of 65-20 and one singles title this season. Alcaraz lost earlier in the Rolex Paris Masters despite having the easiest path to victory.

The ATP will not release the latest official rankings until Monday, November 4. However, it will show Zverev behind Jannik Sinner as the second-best player on the tour.

The timing could not be better for the 27-year-old, with the ATP Finals in Turin coming up next week. Also, it is in a city where Zverev nearly had his career derailed by an injury.

This is a full-circle moment for Zverev, who has reached his career-high No. 2 ranking again. It is the first time he has hit the highwater mark since his career-altering injury at the 2022 French Open.

When facing Rafael Nadal in the 2022 French Open, Zverev rolled his ankle and tore all three lateral tendons in his ankle. He had to undergo surgery and battle back through an extensive rehabilitation process.

When asked about the milestone in his post-match press conference, Zverev said, “It’s nice, for sure. It’s nice to be back at the highest position that I have been so far. Of course, I want to get higher, but for me still Jannik has the best year this season, for sure, and then Carlos had the second-best year. He won two Grand Slams.”

Zverev continued, “I know that I’m ahead of him in the rankings maybe, but for me, he won Wimbledon and Roland Garros. Those are two massive titles. So they are still the two best players in the world, in my opinion, at the moment.”

Zverev will face Ugo Humbert in the Rolex Paris Masters finals on Sunday. It is the conclusion of the last ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the year before next week’s ATP Finals. Tennis fans can follow Sports Illustrated’s Serve on SI for all the most important news from the sport.