Germany captain Boris Becker and Alexander Zverev talk tactics during the ATP Cup held in Brisbane, Australia earlier this year. (Getty Images)
Alexander Zverev is a young German tennis star who reached the Australian Open semi-finals recently.
A three-time Wimbledon champion, Becker, was speaking on the sidelines of Laureus World Sports Awards in Berlin and hailed Zverev’s entry into the semi-final as “a quantum leap”.
“I think it was a quantum leap to be in such a semi-final after difficult weeks,” Becker said.
Becker then added that Zverev had proved his capability and should confirm his victory in the upcoming tournaments.
“The competition doesn’t sleep, and he has to do it now to confirm. The next tournaments in the US are hard, so he can make up a lot of points. The first entry into the round of four in a Grand Slam tournament was already a milestone for Zverev,” Becker opined.
Meanwhile, Zverev was at the receiving end of some criticism from Becker early in the year. Becker had criticised Zverev for his breakout early in the season at the ATP Cup in Brisbane, Australia, where he lost all his 3 group-stage matches to Alex de Minaur, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Denis Shapovalov respectively.
Becker, who was the German team captain at the new team event, made his opinions known by making them public.
“He has to grow up a bit and shouldn’t allow himself to do everything,” said Becker, who was also talking to Zverev himself.
“He has now noticed that this is not possible,” Becker concluded.
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