Alexander Zverev will win the first Grand Slam title of his career at the French Open. Tennis icon Boris Becker is optimistic, but at the same time warns.
“Every beginning is difficult. At first he couldn’t confirm his form, made a lot of mistakes with his forehand and hardly scored any points on his second serve. But he found his way into the game through the fight and was very good again in the end,” Becker analyzed Zverev’s 7:6 (7:3), 6:4, 6:1 in the round of 16 against the Dutchman Jesper de Jong at “Eurosport”.
The German number one was initially 0-3 behind in the first set. Zverev also had to make up a deficit in the tiebreak. “Sascha stayed calm,” praised Becker.
The German tennis icon said: “The psyche has calmed down, the evil demons have said goodbye for now.”
Top favorite Jannik Sinner and Grand Slam record champion Novak Djokovic are already out of the French Open. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is missing from Paris due to injury. The chances for Zverev are good.
Tennis: Bors Becker warns about Zverev’s next opponent
The 29-year-old will face Spaniard Rafael Jódar in the quarterfinals of the French Open on Tuesday.
“Especially on clay, he plays like a fire department. When Sascha heard who he was up against, he flinched a bit. This is a real challenge, a real test for him,” warned Becker.
Zverev himself doesn’t want to look too far ahead at the French Open. “I can only concentrate on the next matches. I’m now playing against a very strong Spaniard who is showing very good tennis this clay court season. That’s my only focus at the moment,” the Hamburg resident told “Eurosport”.
The 19-year-old Jódar also made it to the quarterfinals at the dress rehearsal in Rome. Zverev is still the favorite.
