The German was the third seed at the Paris Masters, with his chances of success having been boosted before the competition got underway thanks to the withdrawals of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic.

But Zverev still needed to be at his best to lift the trophy, which was secured with a dominant 6-2, 6-2 final win over Ugo Humbert.

Zverev has been suffering with a lung problem, but he pushed through that issue to clinch his second title of the season.

Alexander Zverev discusses maiden Grand Slam and world number one ranking

Moreover, the German has returned to world number two in the new ATP Tour rankings, overtaking Carlos Alcaraz.

The number one ranking will now undoubtedly be targeted in the near future, along with a first-ever Grand Slam title.

And asked in his Paris Masters winning press conference which is bigger for him, Zverev responded: “That’s a very good question. I honestly believe that in tennis these days it comes hand in hand. I think it’s very difficult to be World No. 1 without winning a slam.

READ MORE: Alexander Zverev admits how he feels about Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz after reaching number two in the world ranking

“I had the chance in 2022 if I would have not gotten injured, so that’s rare, because there it was still special occasions. There, obviously Novak didn’t play a lot of events because he wasn’t vaccinated. Rafa [Nadal] started the year very strong and got a bit hurt. [Daniil] Medvedev got hurt, as well. He had back surgery that year.

“It was a weird year. It was not like everybody was playing all the tournaments and they were in full strength all the tournaments. So it was different.

“But I think now when everybody is playing and everybody is playing at full strength and everybody is healthy, you have to win Grand Slams to become World No. 1.

“I’m World No. 2 now, but I’m 3,000 points away from Jannik, more or less, maybe more even. I think without the Grand Slams and without the points of the Grand Slams, it’s not possible anymore.”

What is Alexander Zverev’s Grand Slam final record?

Zverev also climbed to world number two in 2022, which came in between his two unsuccessful Grand Slam finals.

He lost his first to Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open, with the German then losing to Alcaraz at this year’s French Open.

READ MORE: Alexander Zverev gives two reasons why he lost all his form this season after ‘incredible’ start to the year

Very frustratingly for Zverev, he led in both finals, but was ultimately outdone by his opponents at Flushing Meadows and Roland Garros.

But he will be hoping lessons have been learned from those defeats, with the 2025 Australian Open now representing his next chance at a maiden Grand Slam title.

The competition will, however, be as difficult as ever, but Zverev will take great confidence from winning his 23rd tour-level title in Paris this week.

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