Alexander Zverev did not like some comments made by Boris Becker and Barbara Rittner during the French Open. He is now making that clear.
First the quarter-final exit at Roland Garros, now the anger at the TV experts: After arriving at the grass court tournament in Stuttgart, Alexander Zverev gave free rein to his frustration.
“When things are going well for me, I always do everything right, but when things are going badly, everyone is always very, very clever. Unfortunately, Boris is one of them,” said the Hamburg tennis pro about Eurosport’s Becker (57).
The three-time Wimbledon winner had expressed his opinion about Zverev just as strongly on the French Open broadcast as he did in a podcast with Andrea Petkovic.
Zverev: “I don’t take your opinion seriously.”
Zverev didn’t like that – nor did he like the comments made by former national coach Barbara Rittner, “who, for whatever reason, has so many opinions about my career,” said Zverev, adding: “Firstly, I don’t take her opinion seriously and secondly, I think she’s wrong.”
Becker had advised Zverev to make a change in his environment in order to fulfill his dream of winning his first Grand Slam title. “At some point, you need new sounds and a new environment. It’s the same in soccer, where coaches don’t normally stay with one club for ten years.”
Rittner (52) responded to Zverev’s statement that his defeat against Novak Djokovic had something to do with the drop in temperature in Paris that evening: “He can’t tell me that.”
Zverev is expected to start the grass season in Stuttgart on Thursday after receiving a bye in the first round. He could then run into Becker. Zverev would not shy away from a conversation.
Great respect for Becker – despite the dispute
“In every relationship, I think, whether it’s with a partner or with someone else, you have issues to argue about. That’s perhaps one of ours,” said the 28-year-old. But: “I still have enormous respect for him. He is an absolute legend, not only in sport, but in Germany in general and worldwide.”
That’s why he will “always listen” to what Becker has to say. “But I don’t always have to agree with him,” said Zverev. The world number three has been coached by his father Alexander senior for years, and his brother Mischa manages his career.
