Alexander Zverev’s long wait for No. 1 ends after dominant season

Alexander Zverev finally rose to the No. 1 spot in the men's tennis rankings on Monday, a reward for a dominant season during which he became a two-time Grand Slam champion.Zverev beat Flavio Cobolli for the French Open title in June in his fourth major final, months before the 29-year-old German defeated Ben Shelton to lift the US Open trophy at Flushing Meadows in September.Those triumphs finally put to rest the underachiever tag pinned on his back for years, when he was widely regarded as “the greatest player never to win a Grand Slam.” Zverev, who is guaranteed to finish the season as No. 1, also reached the final at Wimbledon this year, falling to Jannik Sinner, and the Australian Open semifinals.He became the 30th male player to reach No. 1, and the oldest in more than 50 years to top the rankings for the first time. Zverev only trails John Newcombe, who was 30 years old when he reached the top spot in 1974.“I had to wait,” said Zverev, who reached the summit of the rankings more