Alexander Zverev is Germany’s poster boy for tennis. But that could change in the coming years.
Top star Alexander Zverev sees the current slump in German men’s tennis as just a “transitional phase.” In two or three years, “that will change,” said Zverev before the start of the classic grass court tournament at Wimbledon.
“The older generation is well over 30, the younger generation is under 20, and we don’t have much in the 10 to 15 years in between. The new generation is coming along nicely,” added Zverev.
Only three German men in the Wimbledon main draw
In the world’s oldest tennis tournament, only three men are in the main draw: Zverev, Daniel Altmaier, and Jan-Lennard Struff. The last time there were so few was in 1983. However, the next generation is already waiting in the wings – although Zverev dampened expectations for top talent Justin Engel with some clear words.
Media comparisons with Boris Becker or himself are “stupid,” said Zverev: “Boris won Wimbledon at 17, Justin Engel isn’t playing here.”
Zverev: “Leave the boy alone.”
Engel is a “great player” but still has “a lot of work” ahead of him, according to Zverev: “Leave the boy alone – in two or three years, we’ll see how good he is,” the world number three told journalists.
Engel, currently ranked 219th in the world, recently made a surprise run to the last eight at the ATP tournament in Stuttgart, becoming the youngest quarter-finalist on grass since Boris Becker’s Wimbledon triumph in 1985.
However, the media focus in German tennis is still firmly on Zverev, and he does not believe “that anyone will come along in the next few years who will take the pressure off me. That will remain the case for me,“ said Zverev. W
He is not interested in what is being reported about him: ”At the end of the day, I’m 28 and I’ve learned to tune it out.”
