“He never gave up” Mischa comes in defense of brother Alexander Zverev after Boris Becker had slammed Sascha

World No. 3 Alexander Zverev was a heavy favourite going into the 2022 Australian Open as the 3-time defending champion and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was ruled out of the tournament. The title would have given Sascha his first Grand Slam title and also made him the new World No. 1 but the Olympics gold medallist was defeated in the 4th round of the Slam.

Zverev had a fantastic end to his 2021 season as he finished with a title at the 2021 ATP Finals, his second at the year-end championships. Zverev was also the most successful player last year on both ATP and WTA Tours as he was the only player to win 6 titles in the season. Given his exploits, the German was one of the favourites to win but a straight-set defeat to Denis Shapovalov in the Round of 16 ended his run at Melbourne Park.

Former World No. 1 and 6-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker was rooting for Zverev to win the major this year but was massively disappointed by Sascha for his performance against Shapovalov. “You can lose and play badly, but you still have to make an effort and leave your soul on the pitch,” Becker had said after Zverev lost the match in a poor outing that also saw him smash his racquet in frustration.

“If you don’t feel comfortable and there are also disruptive elements in the game, you are in a position where you are fighting against yourself. From the outside, one then has the impression that he does not want to. But inside, he is constantly fighting. Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations. Some players like Nadal push themselves in stressful situations, others calm down.

“In the round of 16, Sascha was not in a good situation in terms of the game. But he never gave up. He shows emotions differently. It’s a misunderstanding we have. Just because someone looks apathetic doesn’t mean they have to be,” said Mischa Zverev defending his brother during his recent interview with German media outlet Tennis Magazin.

Alexander Zverev loses the title in Montpellier

With an early exit from Australia, Sascha returned to the Tour in the first week of February to get back to action and improve on his mistakes from Australia. Playing as the top seed at the 2022 Montpellier Open in France, he made his way to the finals without dropping a set. Up against Alexander Bublik in the finals, Sascha was defeated in straight-sets as he finished runner-up at the tournament.

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