Alexander Zverev earns enough points to swap places with Carlos Alcaraz in the world no. 2 after he claimed a massive victory in the BMW Open 2025 – showing off that he is not afraid of the moment and is keen to prove that he has what it takes to win big when it matters most. However, it seems that this race is just heating up, and there’s more to expect now more than ever.

While world no.1 Jannik Sinner is virtually untouchable at this point in time with the way he has built a massive lead before his unfortunate doping ban, both Alcaraz and Zverev have been in the mix of battling for the no. 2 spot and are essentially also making a strong climb heading into the clay season of the ATP Tour campaign.

As of the time of writing, Zverev has 8,045 points to his tally – just five points ahead of Alcaraz’s 8,040 points. This season has seen some impressive performances from both stars, and it is safe to say that there is definitely more to come with the way they are playing right now.

All signs point towards both stars hustling it out for the world no. 2 seed, and if Sinner doesn’t return soon enough, maybe one of them would end up as the world no. 1 as well.

Alcaraz’s Big Stretch

Alcaraz scored the first Monte-Carlo Masters win of his career, and it ended with a bang as he rallied to beat almost every single one of his opponents. The final against Lorenzo Musetti even needed three sets to finish, with Alcaraz losing the first. He followed that up with a huge campaign in the Barcelona Open – before he dropped the final to Holger Rune.

Had Alcaraz capped off that final with a bang, he would have a comfortable lead in the world no. 2 spot and held off Zverev perfectly from ascending to the spot in dispute. The biggest worry, however, was the fact that Alcaraz needed an off-court medical timeout after the third game of the third set, and he did not score any games after that.

“That’s what happens when you play so many matches and have so few days to rest. It’s so demanding, and you have to give 100 per cent every day. Having played a tournament like Monte-Carlo and arriving in Barcelona with few days to adapt is really tough,” Alcaraz said of his loss in Barcelona. “Losing is never easy, even less so in a final here. But I have to give credit to Holger, he played an exceptional match, very well organised. He knew what he had to do at all times,”

Zverev Coming Through

Alexander Zverev enjoyed a massive week of his own. He defeated Ben Shelton in the final of the BMW Open 2025 to rack up impressive points, and that hat-trick in Munich really says a lot about how impressive he’s been so far. At this point, the German star will be keen to score a much-needed win in the coming Madrid Open, where he will be defending 100 points – while Alcaraz has 200 in contention.

Zooming into the rest of the schedule, Zverev is the one who needs to win more if he’s going to keep the world no. 2 spot. By the time Roland Garros comes, Zverev is defending 2,400 points – 200 less compared to Alcaraz’s 2,200 points.

One thing is for sure, the Madrid Open is going to be as pivotal as it can be, and luckily for many fans, they will be both playing there – and there is even a chance that both players will be squaring off against each other as well.