Article by Luminița Paul – Published on Wednesday, 22 October 2025 20:46 / Updated on Wednesday, 22 October 2025 21:07
The German Alexander Zverev (28 years old, world number 3) responded to the criticism recently leveled at him by the legendary compatriot Boris Becker (57 years old), who indicated that “there is nothing new in his box for years”.
Alexander Zverev these days he participates in the ATP 500 category tournament in Vienna, where he is seeded 2. He passed the first round, imposing himself in a big fight, however, in front of the British Jacob Fearnley (24, world no. 81, coming from qualifiers), 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (5), and is next to meet the Italian Matteo Arnaldi (24 years old, 72nd place ATP), who climbed the table also from the qualifications.
Ahead of the last tournaments of the year, the Masters 1000 in Paris and the ATP Finals, the most valuable German player of recent years is in pale form, far from his peak. He had started the year promisingly, with the final of the Australian Open, but the defeat suffered in front of him Jannik Sinner left too much of a mark on his evolution from then on.
Even with an oscillating evolution and no great results – he won only one title, in Munich, the ATP 250 tournament – he is quite firmly on the 3rd place in the world. However, the general picture is rather worrying, and the great champion of the 80s-90s Boris Becker spoke his mind about Zverev in a podcast with Andrea Petkovic.
Boris Becker: “I kind of get a headache when I think about Sascha”
“Honestly, the world number one looks different than what I thought, I imagined him knocking on the door of Sinner and Alcaraz. I'm a little worried that the year will end without leaving any significant mark. And that would be bad. I hope he gets his act together and finds solutions to the problems he has”, said Becker (57 years old).
“I kind of get a headache when I think about Sascha“, continued the six-time Grand Slam champion. “There is nothing new in his lodge. It's his father there, it's his brother, it's the same faces as always, for years and years“, he pointed out.
“If things went well, I would be the first to congratulate him and say: «Now we have a superstar!» But I am concerned about what will happen in the futureBoris Becker insisted.
Alexander Zverev: “I don't think he's really that interested in me”
Alexander Zverev during the Shanghai 2025 tournament Photo: Guliver/GettyImages
The person concerned responded, through statements given to Bild. “Come to think of it, I don't think he's all that interested in me. Rather he is looking to be a bit of a center of attention and he wants to get that by talking about meSascha pointed out.
“Unfortunately, this is the situation, but I don't care about him. Everything will be fine and I strongly believe that I will recover my best form, that I will play good tennis again. Now there are tournaments that I like a lot, indoors, like Vienna and Paris, in the second I won last year. I think I can play well there againZverev also said.
During the recent Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai, where he was eliminated in the 3rd round by the future finalist, the Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, the German characterized his evolution in the 2025 season in harsh terms. “I simply don't trust myself, in my shots. I've had a terrible year so far, I'm playing terrible tennis”, said Sascha at the time.
Apart from the Munich title, this year he gathered, chronologically, “quarters” in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Roland Garros, on clay, then the final in Stuttgart and the semi-finals in Halle, on grass. In the North American hard section, he played in the semifinals in Toronto and Cincinnati.
