Alexander Zverev Responds to Boris Becker’s Criticism of him Being “a Problem Child”

Alexander Zverev will face Jacob Fearnley in the opening round of the Vienna Open.

Alexander Zverev Responds to Boris Becker’s Criticism of him Being “a Problem Child”

Alexander Zverev, Boris Becker (Image via X/Murat Taskolu, Univers Tennis)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Alexander Zverev has slammed back at Boris Becker for his recent criticism following his poor run this season. The German star has been under heavy criticism from former players as he has struggled to reach his expected level on the court and has suffered early losses in tournaments he was one of the favorites to win.

Zverev began the year positively, reaching the final of the Australian Open for the first time in his career. But he lost to Jannik Sinner in straight sets in Melbourne, which left him heartbroken. After that he failed to recover his form on tour, struggling to beat top players, while losing to lower ranked players.

At the Wimbledon Championship, he crashed out in the first round after losing to Arthur Rinderknech in five sets. The World No.3 then opened up about his mental status, adding that he didn’t find joy competing on the court. But things didn’t get better for Zverev as he crashed out in the third round of the US Open after losing to Felix Auger-Aliassime.

He recently endured an underwhelming Asian swing, crashing out of the Rolex Shanghai Masters in the early stages, while losing to Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals of the China Open. In a joint podcast with Andrea Petkovic, Becker called Zverev a ‘problem child‘ while criticizing his performance in the ATP Tour.

Becker added that he gets a bit of of headache when thinking about Zverev’s poor display on the court this season, stressing that the German needs to focus on himself. In an interview with Bild am Sonntag, Zverev issued a response to the former World No.1, saying that he doesn’t care what he thinks about him:

I think he’s relatively unconcerned about me, to be honest. I think he’s looking for a bit of attention, and he gets it through me. Unfortunately, that’s the case. But I don’t care anymore. Everything will work out. I’m full of confidence that I’ll find my form again and play good tennis again.

Zverev was the most experienced player for Team Europe at the Laver Cup, but couldn’t put it to use when needed as he failed to win a match for his team. The World No.3 has managed to win just one title this season and that came at the Munich Open in April, where he defeated Ben Shelton in straight sets.

Alexander Zverev hopes to get back to form at the Vienna Open

Alexander Zverev is back on tour and currently in Vienna for the ATP 500 tournament in Austria. The former World No.2 enters the tournament at the back of just three wins on tour since the US Open. He has competed in three tournaments in the ATP since the Flushing Meadows but have failed to reach the semi-finals of any of them.

Alexander Zverev Laver Cup
Alexander Zverev (via Punto de Break)

He will face Britain’s Jacob Fearnley in his opening match in Vienna. The tie marks their fourth meeting on tour, with Zverev leading their head-to-head record 3-0. They first met at the Australian Open, where the German won in straight sets and did the same in their meeting at the Miami Open. During the aforementioned interview, he admitted that he believes he will begin to his play his best tennis in Austria:

Now there are tournaments that I really like indoors, Vienna and Paris, where I won last year. I think I can play good tennis there again.

Zverev has been complaining about a back injury that he has been struggling with for the past few months. The injury has often made him not to give his best on the court. However, he will hope to end the year on high. A good run at the Vienna Open, will give him confidence to compete well at the Paris Masters.

Also Read: Former Italian Player says Jannik Sinner’s Win Over Carlos Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam Was “Worthless”