Since his Australian Open final, Germany’s number one hasn’t been doing so well. Zverev admits mistakes before his home game in Munich. And talks about the rumors surrounding Boris Becker.
Not much is going well for tennis Olympic champion Alexander Zverev at the moment. Most recently, he lost his opening match at the Monte-Carlo Masters – once again, he was knocked out early. “The last few weeks,” Zverev admitted ahead of his first appearance at the Munich home tournament, “have been a bit more difficult.”
Despite everything, he remains optimistic: “I think I’ll get out of this phase. Soon. I feel like I’m starting to play better and better,” said the 27-year-old ahead of his clash against France’s Alexandre Müller (today, not before 2 p.m.). Zverev is the top seed at the event in Munich, which is being held as an ATP 500 tournament for the first time. He doesn’t want any doubts to arise. “I still have confidence in myself that I will start playing really good tennis by Paris.”
The big goal remains clear: the French Open starting May 20. Since losing in the final of the Australian Open to Jannik Sinner – who is not competing in Munich due to a doping suspension – Zverev has only made it to the quarterfinals at best in six tournaments. Nevertheless, he emphasizes: “I’m still very confident that I will play well now and hopefully in the next few weeks as well.”
Rumors of collaboration with Boris Becker
Paris, he explains, is still “the main focus”. He has his sights set on the longed-for first Grand Slam title. Zverev again did not comment specifically on speculation about a possible collaboration with Boris Becker. “If there is any news, I will say so. But there is no news.” The rumors arose recently because Becker was present as an observer at the training session in Monte Carlo on several occasions. Becker once led Novak Djokovic to six Grand Slam titles. Many experts see him as the perfect coach for Zverev to achieve his career goal. Currently, the 28-year-old is coached by his father, Alexander Zverev Sr.
Zverev is trying to objectively assess his current period of weakness. “I played the Australian Open final three months ago,” he says. “So I’m not going to have forgotten how to play tennis.” In retrospect, however, he says it was a mistake not to take a break after Melbourne. Instead of regeneration, three tournaments in South America followed.
His goal was clear: he was determined to become the world number one for the first time. But the prospect of doing so seemed to hold him back. Zverev’s recent results meant that he missed the chance to replace Sinner, who is banned from the top of the world rankings until May 4. A missed opportunity – but no reason for excessive self-criticism. “Tennis is important, but tennis is not everything in life for me,” he emphasizes. “I still go home just as I would go home with victories. It doesn’t change anything for me.”
But the downward trend should finally change. In front of a home crowd in Munich. But his last results there are unlikely to encourage him. Since his two tournament victories at the venue in the English Garden (2017 and 2018), the event has not developed into a good place.
In the five subsequent appearances, he never won more than one game and had nothing to do with the title. Results like he put them down last. The turnaround could therefore succeed in the double sense.
