Australian Open – Becker: “Will see better Zverev from set to set”

Cologne (SID) – Boris Becker believes that the top German player Alexander Zverev can significantly improve his performance at the Australian Open. “We will see a better Zverev from set to set,” said the 55-year-old in a Eurosport interview. Becker will again accompany the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, which begins on Monday, as an expert for the TV station.

Zverev, who is considered a grab bag after his month-long injury break in Melbourne, lost his previous two matches in January. There, the Hamburger was missing “the match fitness”, said Becker: “It must now be a matter of surviving the first round as well as possible and without accidents. Only then will he know 100 percent where he is.” At the start, the former world number two meets Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas.

Becker sees Novak Djokovic as the top favorite, who spectacularly missed the tournament after a failed attempt to enter the country without a corona vaccination. “His disappointment a year ago was very big, but I think he will be all the better at the Australian Open this season,” said Becker.

The exceptional talent would catch up with major record winner Rafael Nadal with his 22nd Grand Slam title. “The expectations are high,” said Becker. In addition, Djokovic is “probably not quite at 100 percent” because of his thigh problems. Nadal sees Becker right behind Djokovic in the list of favorites: “He’s an incredible competitor and if he didn’t have a chance, he wouldn’t play.”

Eurosport will broadcast the Australian Open live on free TV from January 16th to 29th, and all games can also be seen live and on-demand on up to 16 parallel channels on the discovery+ streaming service.