Alexander Zverev has fired back at Boris Becker after the 57-year-old urged his fellow German to axe his father and brother from his coaching team. Zverev has never won a Grand Slam title and fell in his latest attempt at the French Open, losing to Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals. Becker responded by suggesting that Zverev needs to shake things up behind the scenes.
He said: “It’s the same in football. As a football coach you don’t normally stay with a club for 10 years. [Zverev] is the one who decides. He is the chairman of the board, the CEO. He decides what Team Zverev will look like in the future. His father and brother did an excellent job, but it wasn’t good enough for the final step.”
Zverev has since issued a stinging response to Becker’s comments while also attacking Barbara Rittner, who dismissed his explanation that cold weather impacted his display against Djokovic.
“When things are going well for me, I always do everything right,” said Zverev. “When things are going badly for me, everyone else is very, very clever. Unfortunately, Boris is one of them, and so is Barbara Rittner.
“I don’t know why she [Rittner] suddenly has so much to say about my tennis career. She never played tennis at that level. To be honest, I don’t take her opinion seriously. Firstly, because of that, and secondly, because I think she’s wrong.
“I came back from a serious injury, played in two Grand Slam finals and was number two in the world. I still see myself as a candidate to compete against the guys at the top.
“I lost to Djokovic, not to Hans-Peter ranked 250th. He played well and it was difficult for me to play aggressively against him and hit winners that night.”
Asked if he had spoken to Becker about his comments, Zverev replied: “I talked to him a lot, we had a lot of contact before he made those statements. We had a great relationship. I don’t know why it all had to happen this way.
“It’s interesting that everyone knows everything better than I do. I don’t know where all of this information is coming from. Not from me, and not from anybody around me either.”
Zverev will be hoping to bounce back from his French Open disappointment in Stuttgart this week. He has received a bye to the second round, where he will battle Corentin Moutet for a place in the quarter-finals.
