After the final disaster at the Australian Open, Boris Becker has words of praise for Alexander Zverev – with one exception.
For Alexander Zverev, the Australian Open final was a disaster. The best German tennis player lost to the Italian Jannik Sinner in three sets. The hoped-for title did not materialize in the third Grand Slam final either. Nevertheless, Eurosport expert Boris Becker still had words of praise for the 27-year-old afterwards.
Although Zverev was clearly inferior from a sporting point of view, he is still a winner. “For me, Sascha lost on the court today, but won as a person. He showed maturity in his speech and presented himself very well overall,” explained the tennis legend.
“You can’t always win on the court, you can do your best and let your personality come across and that’s what he did.”
Someone is screaming at Alexander Zverev as he’s trying to give his runner up speech after losing to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final.
Wow.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 26, 2025
“Downcast and mentally exhausted”
Commentator Matthias Stach was also impressed. Although Zverev was “downcast and mentally exhausted”, he still gave a “great speech” and thanked the fans – “with sustainability, not just said.”
After a controversial incident shortly before his speech, the visibly depressed athlete had found strong words. He paid tribute to his competitor Sinner for his impressive performance and thanked the fans for their continued support.
However, Becker did not agree with one statement. “I want to thank my team. We try to do everything right. I’m just not good enough,” Zverev stated and then looked down.
Too much for Becker: “Don’t say that, Sascha. You’re the second-best player in the world, my God.”
Incidentally, the world number two was enthusiastically celebrated by the audience.
