"It's much more difficult" - Alexander Zverev on maintaining a top 10 position in the current era

Tennis star Alexander Zverev has been a fixture at the top of the ATP Rankings table for close to a decade, but the German believes remaining in that position now is more difficult than it was years ago.

The former Olympic gold medalist was competing at the Madrid Open after coming off a title run in Munich in front of his home crowd. However, Zverev suffered a round of 16 defeat to Argentine Francisco Cerundolo, who again bested the World No.2 after escaping with a victory at the same stage last year in Madrid.

During his press conference after the match, Zverev was asked if it was easier to reach and stay in the top 10 in today's era given the current level of competition.

"Definitely not," responded Zverev with a shake of his head. "It's much more difficult. The depth of the players is much more.
"I remember when I got to the top 10 for the first time, it was 2017, eight years ago. Yes it was very strong and we had the four greatest players in the world, you know with Novak, Rafa, Roger, Andy...Stan, Delpo and all those guys. But the level from 10 to 20 and I would say 20 to 30 was much lower than it is now.
"Yes the top was unbelievable, but the depth now is much more."

Zverev now falls to 0-3 in career meetings against Cerundolo, and the German will look to take his talents to Rome in preparation for the French Open.