Tallon Griekspoor has dismissed the idea of Alexander Zverev ending 2026 as the men's singles world no. 1.
Zverev won his second Grand Slam title last week when he beat Ben Shelton 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 5-7 6-2 in the US Open final.
It followed his French Open triumph earlier this year, which has been the most successful of his career.
The 29-year-old is second in the ATP rankings behind Jannik Sinner as of this week's standings.
However Griekspoor, who lost to Shelton in the US Open first round, does not believe that Zverev reach the summit.
Speaking in a press conference at the Davis Cup, the Dutchman was asked if Zverev could overtake Sinner for top spot and become no. 1.
"Absolutely not," he said in quotes from De Telegraaf via Ubitennis. "There's not a hair on my head that thinks so."
A 'hard time' watching Zverev in final
Griekspoor also revealed that he expected Zverev to beat Shelton in the US Open final, which he described as 'rather mediocre'.
"Zverev wasn't exceptional, but he served really well," he added. "The second set tie-break was crucial."
In addition, Griekspoor took aim at the newly-crowned champion for pre-serve routine.
"There were other sports going on, and I simply have a hard time watching Zverev. Especially in this tournament, where he bounced the ball 400 times before every serve.
"It was really extreme, but it obviously helped him. Maybe I should do the same."
Griekspoor appeared to receive some backlash for his comments, and took to X to respond.
"Normally, I donâÂÂt react on here, but this is getting out of control," he explained. "Just said it was tough to watch because of the never ending bouncing.
"Nothing but praise for Sacha for what he's done throughout this year!"
A year to remember for Zverev
Just like London buses, you wait for one and two come along at once.
This is an apt way of describing the past few months for Zverev, who is the 154th different Grand Slam winner in men's singles history.
Zverev first reached the Australian Open semi-finals before beating Flavio Cobolli at Roland Garros for his first major title.
He later suffered heartbreak in the Wimbledon final against Sinner, but bounced back with his US Open victory.
Zverev has thoroughly impressed in 2026 and made the most of the absences of 'Sincaraz'.
Carlos Alcaraz won the Australian Open, making him the youngest ever men's singles player to complete the career Grand Slam.
However, Alcaraz missed both the French Open and Wimbledon due to a wrist injury, before reaching the US Open quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Sinner was an Australian Open semi-finalist before a shock second round defeat to Juan Manuel Cerundolo at the French Open.
He then won Wimbledon but withdrew from the US Open due to an issue with his knee.