Boris Becker: Zverev played at world class level against Federer, Djokovic
In an interview to Tennis Magazin, Boris Becker praised Alexander Zverev's potential. There are a lot of expectations on the 21-year-old, who will start his new season at the Hopman Cup in Perth later this month. 'He made a turn in the world class with his ATP Finals win,' said Becker. 'The way he played against Federer in the semi-finals and Djokovic in the final was of world level. His win shows that in 2019 the younger stars will get even closer to the top.'
On the working relationship between Zverev and Ivan Lendl, Becker added: 'This combination is very good. But you have to give time to them. Lendl is a master in his work and he comes from a group where everything worked very well and not everyone wants to leave his job. The decisive factor is the player. Zverev will keep looking at him and he will take the time needed to evaluate everything. Anything, but a long term success, would surprise me.'
Commenting on Wimbledon introducing a tie-break on 12-all in the fifth set, Becker concluded: 'The change is very good. You can still play five sets, that can require five hours. At some points it's beautiful. But players, crowd and fans lose the desire. No one believes that the winner can compete in the next round.'
Becker criticized Michael Stich: 'I think he did a good job as a Tournament Director in Hamburg. But there are reasons why it did not work. There are really problems. I went from being a single athlete to becoming a team athlete. Not everyone has done that step. I need my team, my players, my workers to make it work. From what I have heard, Michael id fighting to understand that you are strong only in a group. That was the problem in Hamburg.'
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