Alexander Zverev’s Towering Success Not Enough for Boris Becker as He Vents Frustration at Lack of German Superstars

With the sudden rise in the number of tennis stars from Latin America, Italy seems to be a lone warrior from Europe! Both Jannik Sinner and Jasmine Paolini have gone deep into the major tournament this year in Paris. This is the first time that Italy has had men’s and women’s singles semifinalists at the same major. But what about other European superpowers in the tennis world? Although Alexander Zverev has reached his fourth consecutive semifinal at the French Open, the other German players faced an early exit from the tournament this year. German tennis legend, Boris Becker says he’s a bit “worried” with his nation not producing enough tennis talents!

Boris Becker is one of those players who brought Germany on the map of the tennis world. The 56-year-old tennis legend won 49 titles in his career including six Grand Slam triumphs. He even won an Olympic gold medal while representing his nation in a double event in 1992 and also led Germany to back-to-back Davis Cup triumphs in 1988 and 1989. This year we have seen Alexander Zverev win the Italian Open, before that, we saw another German, Jan-Lennard Struff lift the title at the Bavarian International. But who after these two?

Out of the thirteen German tennis players who started, five made it to the second round and only one survived the third round. After seeing such a grim picture of German tennis, Becker said, “There is a big gap behind this.” He feels the German Tennis Association (DTB) is currently not developing enough junior players to compete at the bigger stages. Boris Becker added, “I’m worried about the 18- to 21-year-olds. When they come from the youth sector, I see too few good ones who can assert themselves.“

He was the Head of Men’s Tennis at the DTB for almost three years (2017-2020). Boris Becker has seen a lot of rise and fall in German tennis. How does he look at a collaboration with DTB in developing more youngsters into tennis stars, like Alexander Zverev?

“Not really wanted” – Boris Becker feels a bit unwanted at DTB, but are his roads open for coaching Alexander Zverev?

To eat the fruit, one first needs to plant the seed. But who’d take the responsibility of planting the seed in German tennis? Will it be Boris Becker? Well, the German tennis legend says, “I would do it on a voluntary basis. But I would really like to have a conversation.” However, he revealed that he has the feeling that his support is “not really wanted” by them at the moment. Boris Becker is a big fan of Alexander Zverev, a few months ago he said that he feels Zverev is a bit “undervalued“.

He thinks the world number 4 doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. Apart from his heroics during his playing career, Boris Becker did quite an exceptional job while coaching the current world number 1, Novak Djokovic. What does Alexander Zverev think about bringing the German tennis legend into his team as a coach? “There is always the chance, there always has been,” Zverev said during an interview with German news agency DPA. Do you think both Zverev and Becker can play a crucial role in turning the tide in German tennis?