Zverev fires back at Becker and Rittner: "Not lost against Hans Peter"

After his French Open exit, Alexander Zverev countered criticism from tennis legend Boris Becker and expert Barbara Rittner with strong words. "I believe that when things are going well for me, I always do everything right. And when things are going badly for me, everyone is always very, very clever. Unfortunately, Boris is one of them," the 28-year-old criticized in Stuttgart.

Rittner, whose opinion he "doesn't take seriously" and who represents a "wrong opinion," is one of them. He says it's interesting that "suddenly everyone knows everything better than I do."

In Paris last week, Zverev's once again futile pursuit of his first Grand Slam title was defeated in the quarterfinals by Serbian star Novak Djokovic. The world-class final on Sunday was won by Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz against Italian Jannik Sinner. "I still see myself as a contender to compete against those two guys at the top," Zverev clarified. "I lost to Djokovic, not to Hans Peter, who is ranked 250th in the world."

After the quarterfinal exit, Becker accused Zverev of passivity and advised a change of environment and thus a change of coach away from his father. "You get the impression that he's playing in the same rut against the top players and hoping for a good result," Becker said. "His father and brother did an excellent job, but it wasn't good enough for the final step," Becker criticized.

The three-time Wimbledon champion and Zverev have known each other for many years. "I also had a lot of contact with Boris before he made this statement," Zverev said. He has had "a great relationship" with him so far. The door isn't closed. "I still have massive respect for him. I will always listen to what he has to say, but I don't always have to agree with him."

Rittner had criticized Zverev for his excuses after the loss, after he cited the conditions as the reason for his exit. "He explained it by saying that it was 20 degrees Celsius in the first set, the game was faster, and he was able to play his forehand more. But in sets two, three, and four... there was no drop in temperature," Rittner said.

After his exit in Paris, Zverev flew to Mallorca for a few days to play golf. The top German player has a bye to the opening match in Stuttgart and is expected to make his first appearance on Thursday.