Alexander Zverev counters Boris Becker criticism as he signals clear intent in Stuttgart

“When things are going well for me, I always do everything right. When things are going badly for me, everyone else is very, very clever. Unfortunately, Boris is one of them, and so is Barbara Rittner,” Zverev replied when asked about the comments.

“I don’t know why she [Rittner] suddenly has so much to say about my tennis career. To be honest, I don’t take her opinion seriously. Firstly, because of that, and secondly, because I think she’s wrong,” he continued.

I came back to No. 2 in the world after an injury and played two Grand Slam finals in the last twelve months. I still see myself as a contender against the two guys at the top.

“I lost to Djokovic. Maybe it wasn’t my best match, but I thought he played very well. […] It was just difficult. And to be honest, I talked to Boris a lot, had a lot of contact with him before he made those statements. Before this crew had all that to say, I had a great relationship with him. I don’t know why it all has to be like this now.”