Former world No 2 Alexander Zverev admits he would like to face Novak Djokovic in Dubai. Zverev, seeded at No 7, was placed in the bottom half of the Dubai main draw section. In the top half of the Dubai draw, Djokovic is seeded at No 1.
Because of that, Zverev and Djokovic can only meet in the Dubai final. “Yes (on whether he wants to face Djokovic in Dubai), because that means it’s a final, so I don’t care who I play in the final if I’m in the final, to be honest right now,” Djokovic said, per Sportskeeda.
Zverev on Djokovic’s latest record
This Monday, Djokovic officially entered a record-breaking 378th week as the world No 1. With that, Djokovic surpassed the great Steffi Graf, who held the previous record with 377 weeks.
When asked about Djokovic’s latest record, Zverev wasn’t surprised as he acknowledged that Djokovic has always been a strong force on pretty much every surface. “I think I said in Doha already, that shows the achievement he has.
He’s been dominating tennis for the last 10, 12 years. I’ve said that. On all the different surfaces, he can play the best tennis. That’s why his ranking has been constantly up there,” Zvrev explained. In Dubai, Djokovic admitted it felt “surreal” to be now recognized as the all-time recorder in the most weeks spent at the top spot.
“It’s surreal in a way to be that many weeks world No. 1, to match Steffi Graf, that is one of the all-time greats of our sport, both men and women. Just being amongst these legendary names is flattering,” Djokovic said in Dubai.
Meanwhile, it has been a while since we have seen Zverev and Djokovic going up against each other on the main level. The last meeting between the two on the main level came at the 2021 ATP Finals, when Zverev beat Djokovic. It remains to be seen if Zverev and Djokovic will meet this week in Dubai.
