Alexander Zverev has had his fair share of heartbreaks in tennis. A Grand Slam title and the No. 1 ranking have always been within reach, yet they continue to elude him. Rewind to the 2022 French Open: the German tennis player was in a high-stakes semifinal battle against Rafael Nadal. He was just one match away from becoming the world’s top-ranked player when an untimely injury shattered his hopes and forcing him to retire from the match. Now, another golden opportunity has slipped away, and his path to the summit looks tougher than ever. Let’s find out what happened!

The stage was set for Zverev once again. This time, his biggest rival in the rankings—Jannik Sinner sat out due to a three-month suspension in relation to his doping case. The Italian, who leads the rankings with 11,330 points, will miss four major tournaments. That left a wide-open gap for Zverev, who currently has 8,135 points, to play catch-up.

But things didn’t go according to plan. The German tennis player took an unusual route, choosing to compete on clay in February instead of sticking to hard-courts. He kicked off his campaign at the Argentina Open, an ATP 250 event, but fell short in the quarterfinals to Francisco Cerundolo. Hoping for a better result in Brazil, he played the Rio Open and once again exited in the last eight, this time losing to Francisco Comesana. Switching back to hard-courts, the World No. 2 entered the Mexican Open in Acapulco. This time, he suffered his earliest loss of the season, bowing out in the second round to rising American teenager Learner Tien, 6-3, 6-4. Out of a possible 1,250 points, he earned only 200—far from the numbers he needed.

Now, Zverev’s chances of reaching No. 1 are slim. But can he turn his luck going forward?

Alexander Zverev looks forward to the Sunshine doubles to close the gap

The next big test is the Sunshine Double—Indian Wells and Miami. Jannik Sinner, who won the Miami Open last year and reached the semifinals at Indian Wells, will drop 1,600 points due to his absence. Therefore Sinner will have an accumulated 9,730 points after his return. That gives Alexander Zverev a small window of opportunity.

Last year, the World No.2 made the quarterfinals in Indian Wells and the semifinals in Miami. He’s defending 600 points but has a chance to earn 2000 more points if he wins both tournaments. However, pulling off the Sunshine Double is no small feat. Only seven players have ever done it, with 24-time Grand Slam champion, Novak Djokovic being the most recent, dominating from 2014 to 2016.

If Zverev somehow wins both events, he can finally crown himself the World No. 1. But given his past performance at the Sunshine Double, it’s going to be tough. It could mean that the battle for No. 1 could extend to the clay season, where the French Open offers him another golden opportunity. Last year’s French Open finalist will look to not only fight for the No. 1 spot but will also be looking to win his first Grand Slam trophy after failing to capitalise on three different Grand Slam finals.

The German tennis star’s journey to the top has been full of roadblocks, and this time is no different. He still has a mathematical chance, but it’s a steep climb. Winning both Indian Wells and Miami is easier said than done. Will Alexander Zverev finally take his shot, or will this be another missed chance?