Germany’s Alexander Zverev has had a roller-coaster run in this season. The German made it to the final of the Australian Open but could not cross the last hurdle against Jannik Sinner. 

After the Italian was banned for three months due to doping, Zverev had a chance to close in on the gap in the rating points. However, the lanky player suffered early round setbacks in the following events and could not rise to the top of the rankings.

Zverev recently won the Munich Open at home after beating Ben Shelton in straight sets in the final.

“World No. 1? It would be nice, I have not been there. I believe I will, so we’ll see how it goes,” Zverev said during Monday’s press conference in Rome. “I’m there [No. 2] because I won tournaments. I’m there because I have results. The ranking system doesn’t lie. You get points for winning matches, you get points for winning titles.”

Zverev is the defending champion at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome this week and he would look to bring his best in Italy.

The World No.2 admitted he didn’t play as per his standard after making it to the Australian Open final.

“I know I didn’t play up to my standard,” Zverev said of his 6-6 record between the Australian Open and Munich, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. “I know I didn’t play up to what I wanted to do. But neither did Carlos [Alcaraz], then he won Monte-Carlo.

“Do you think Novak [Djokovic] is happy with his results? Do you think Carlos is happy with his results? I’m not happy with my results. At the end of the day in big matches, big moments, I still believe the top players will rise, and I still believe that I am going to find my tennis for the biggest tournaments.”

Zverev will begin his Italian Open title defense against Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli on Friday.