Boris Becker says he knew it probably wouldn’t go well for Alexander Zverev as soon as he saw the German’s posture as he was walking out onto Rod Laver Arena for the Australian Open final.
On Sunday, the 27-year-old failed to become a Grand Slam champion and registered his third loss in a Major final.
After falling in five sets in both of his first two Slam finals, the world No. 2 suffered a straight-set loss this time after Jannik Sinner got the job done with a 6-3 7-6 (4) 6-3 scoreline.
Speaking with Andrea Petkovic, Becker observed that there was a clear difference in how the players looked when they were entering the court.
“But, dear Andrea, when he walked into the court with his shoulders slightly slumped forward and his head hanging low, I thought ‘Oh God, oh God, oh God,’” the German tennis legend said on the Podstars.
“He’s tense, he’s nervous, he’s not in the right mindset. This is going to be a tough one. Then Jannik Sinner stepped onto the court and he looked like pure sunshine. Focused, chest out, head held high.”
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Zverev kept it brutally honest about his performance
Following another painful Slam final defeat, a crushed Zverev said that he wasn’t good enough.
Also, he admitted that the Italian outplayed him and was clearly a better player on the court.
“Today he completely outplayed me. I’m serving better than him, but that’s it. He does everything else better than me,” the German said.
“He moves better than me. He hits his forehand better than me. He hits his backhand better than me. He returns better than me. He volleys better than me.”
After the match, Zverev also admitted to reporters that he wouldn’t like to finish his career without a Slam and then have people talking about him as one of the best without a Major.
Tennis World USA