Tennis star Alexander Zverev has hit out at Boris Becker on the back of criticism surrounding his game.
Zverev has been in action in the Vienna Open, having made headlines when he admitted he may have needed therapy after his early exit from Wimbledon in the summer.
The 28-year-old German was due to take part in the ATP tournament in Switzerland in mid-July, but pulled out with fans concerned for his welfare due to his words on the back of his defeat by world No 72 Arthur Rinderknech.
He said: ‘I feel very alone out there at times. I struggle mentally. I’ve been saying that since after the Australian Open. I’m trying to find ways, trying to find ways to kind of get out of this hole. I keep kind of finding myself back in it in a way.’
But he is now back in action, and beat Brit Jacob Fearnley on Centre Court to reach the last-16 in Italy on Tuesday.
Becker, however, has been critical of the world No 3’s play. Becker said he is ‘worried’ about his countryman, but his words didn’t go down well.
Tennis star Alexander Zverev has hit out at Boris Becker following criticism of his game
Becker said he was ‘worried’ about the future of Zverev’s game and that he hadn’t freshened up his team recently
‘Nothing is happening in his box either,’ Becker said. ‘There’s his father and his brother.
‘They’re the same faces for years and years. If things were going well, I’d be the first to congratulate him and say: “We have a superstar now”. But I’m a bit worried about what comes next.’
Becker also called him a ‘problem child’. Zverev, though, respondedL ‘I think he’s relatively unconcerned about me, to be honest.
‘I think he’s looking for a bit of attention, and he gets it through me. Unfortunately, that’s the case. But I don’t care anymore.
‘Everything will work out. I’m full of confidence that I’ll find my form again and play good tennis again.’
Zverev has recently struggled in Saudi Arabia, losing to Taylor Fritz in an hour at the Six Kings Slam, and also suffered another shock defeat by Rinderknech in the third-round at the Shanghai Masters.
He will be hoping to go further in Vienna, however, and prove Becker wrong towards the end of what has been a tough year.
