Andrea Petkovic stood up for her podcast colleague Boris Becker. After Alexander Zverev recently publicly countered the 57-year-old’s criticism, she emphasized how harmless the six-time Grand Slam winner’s words were, especially in international comparison.
“I work for a lot of international media, American, Australian. The way they sometimes talk about Alexander Zverev, what you say is really wrapped up in wool,” said Petkovic in the podcast Becker Petkovic.
“I think that you really still speak with a lot of empathy for him. I wanted to stand up for you, even in the criticism you still notice a great deal of affection for Sascha,” said the former tennis player.
Petkovic emphasized that when she hears how experts like Jim Courier sometimes talk about Zverev, she and Becker become his “German defensive wall”. She clarified: “Just as a comparison: your words are nowhere near as harsh and cutting as they are sometimes portrayed internationally.”
Debate about Zverev: “It’s often about the headlines”
The tennis expert himself added that it is often just about the headlines that are often chosen for Becker’s words towards the German tennis star.
His podcast colleague then appealed to listeners: “For everyone who comments: Please stop reading an Instagram tile and then commenting on it. Either read the entire newspaper article or listen to the entire podcast.”
Zverev had previously said in an interview with the Picture on Sunday directed clear words at the tennis icon and accused Becker of wanting to gain attention with his criticism. He was reacting to the fact that the six-time Grand Slam winner had chosen critical tones in the podcast with Petkovic.
