“Where is the German Alcaraz?”: Boris Becker sounds the alarm at tennis

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Since Boris Becker (55) won the Australian Open in 1996, no German has managed to win a Grand Slam. Angelique Kerber’s (35) victory at Wimbledon was five years ago.

No wonder Becker is sounding the alarm. Germany is currently only eight times in the top 100 of the two world rankings – three times for women and five times for men. “These are sobering facts. That’s the reality. We don’t have the offspring we want,” he says on Eurosport’s podcast “The Yellow Ball”.

A look at other major tennis countries in particular raises questions for Becker. Not only because the US (24) or France (16) have significantly more top players. “Where is the German Carlos Alcaraz, where do we see young players who can play at the top of the world? I don’t see them,” says Becker. Because while the Spaniard is already a two-time Grand Slam champion at the age of 20, Germany does not have such young players at the top of the world rankings.

A social problem

In the top 100 men, Alexander Zverev (26) and Daniel Altmaier (24) are the youngest. In comparison, there are five players from France and seven from the US who are 22 years old or younger.

What Becker is missing: young players who advance to the main draw and reach the second or third round. “I don’t see them in women or men, with a few exceptions,” was the sobering conclusion. He cites a social and cultural problem as the reason, which is also known in football. Germany has also struggled there in recent years. “Our 15, 16-year-olds think differently about becoming tennis players or soccer players.”

This is evident from a look at the list of winners of the junior majors. In 2012 Annika Beck (29) won the French Open, two years later Alexander Zverev won the Australian Open. Since then, they have been waiting for a German triumph. Both failed to repeat their victories in the pros. Beck won two tournaments and retired in 2018.

Zverev problems with ex-girlfriends

And Zverev? He became Olympic champion in 2021 and won the ATP Finals twice (2018 and 2021). However, so far he has not had a major title. Best result: Final of the US Open 2020. The former number 2 in the world has now dropped to 19th place in the world rankings.

Plus, Zverev always makes headlines elsewhere. On the one hand because he likes to lose heart on the field, on the other hand because of his private life. And not only since he was with Sophia Thomalla (33), but especially through his ex-girlfriends. Olga Sharipova accused him of psychological and physical violence. Because there was insufficient evidence, the ATP players association stopped its investigation, it was announced at the beginning of this year. Brenda Patea, the mother of his daughter (2), recently reported him for assault. He rejected that accusation on Monday on the sidelines of the ATP tournament in Hamburg.

Nevertheless, according to Becker, the Germans can be happy with a quartet around Zverev that is in the top 60. And at least there is hope for success. (bir)

Source : Blick