'More Mature' Zverev 'Has Got A Shot' At Roland Garros Title Says Becker

Sunday, 09 June 2024 at 14:30

byZachary Wimer

According to Boris Becker, Alexander Zverev has matured enough to have a good shot at this year's Roland Garros trophy.

Zverev will contest the Roland Garros final against Carlos Alcaraz, who eliminated world no. 1 to-be, Jannik Sinner, and the German will be the underdog in the final. He will be mostly an underdog because he's facing a player who has won a Grand Slam before and also scored some big wins over him.

Still, the matchup is far from one-sided, as Zverev scored some big wins against the Spaniard as well. In fact, he won the only match they played in Paris two years ago, so he won't be without chances in this final.

His maturity in his game has impressed many, including Boris Becker, who knows Sascha very well. Speaking to Eurosport, Becker assessed Zverev's chances ahead of the tricky final against Alcaraz, admitting that he could see Zverev win the match.

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"It’s a historic day for Germany because we’ve never had a champion here. We’ve never had anybody win Roland-Garros, and he’s in the final. He’s got a shot. He’s been to the final before, and it was a lesson learned. He should have beaten [Dominic] Thiem four years ago in the US Open final. He’s a more mature guy now; a more mature player."

Zverev overcame many obstacles to reach the final. He bested Roland Garros legend Rafael Nadal in the opening round and then won several long battles. All of that signals to Becker that he's ready to win.

"He had a hard draw to come through. He said ‘This is a final for me’ [when he played Nadal in the first round]. He had to raise his level from the first round which was better than in previous years. He should have gone out to Griekspoor, but you’ve got to die once or twice in order to lift the trophy."