“I don’t think anyone has had to explain themselves as much as I’ve had to over the last couple of days, which I find quite frankly annoying,” he added.
Zverev also did not hide behind the meeting. “To make it simple, he played really well and I played really bad,” he said. “I think this was not a very good match for me. One of the worst in the past few months I think. (…) I was bad. It’s very simple, there are no excuses.”
Answering questions in German, he fired back Boris BeckerWHO Der Spiegel said this week that fans have largely supported his opponents in all three Grand Slam finals this year. “I don’t know what’s going on with him at the moment, but I have a feeling that somehow he has to interpret everything I’m doing,” Zverev said in German.
I think he’s looking for something to bring me down a little at the moment. He can do it, it’s his choice.
“I felt like 70 percent of the people in Paris were for me, at Wimbledon I was playing Yannick Sinner and it was actually 50-50, I felt,” he said. “And in New York, when I play an American, it’s normal that the stadium is against me.”
Becker also said that Zverev’s silence on the Ukraine war, which he personally understood, was “certainly not very good.” “Somehow it seemed strange to me that he thinks I should speak politically,” Zverev replied. “No one ever asked me about that. I’m not going to go on Instagram and post long comments. It’s not me, I’ve never done it and I never will.”
“I think he’s looking for something at the moment to bring me down a little bit. He can do it, it’s his choice,” said Zverev. Becker had greeted him three weeks earlier with Andrea Petkovic on his podcast as the new world number 1 “right and very well deserved”. “You don’t become No. 1 by accident,” Becker said.
Why has Zverev’s No. 1 status been called into question?
On Monday, Zverev became the 30th world No. 1 in ATP rankings history after a season in which he won Roland Garros and the US Open, his first two Grand Slam titles. He leads the ATP Tour with 65 wins this year, according to the ATP. Jannik Sinner: out for the rest of the season.
Doubts were raised on the first day of the tournament. Commenting live on Eurosport on Monday, French journalist Frédéric Verdier said Zverev had only beaten three top 10 players this season and was benefiting from the absence of The Sinners and The Sins. Carlos Alcaraz, according to Univers Tennis.
Jimmy Connors added his voice on his podcast. “As happy as I am with Zverev and his game, he now owes it to the game and to himself to play like a two-time Grand Slam champion every time,” the former world No. 1 said.
Others defended him. Ahead of the tournament, Rolex Paris Masters director Cedric Piolin said there is There is no such thing as default #1. Pete SamprasA video message released by the ATP said the ranking was well deserved.
Zverev already answered the question at his first press conference as No. 1 on Monday. “You have to have the best season you’ve had all year,” he said. “I’m looking forward to having the top two guys (Alcaraz and Sinner) back healthy, playing full and competing with them. I’m looking forward to that challenge too.”
