Becker: Zverev Would Have 5 Grand Slams Already If He Won 2020 US Open Final
The Australian Open draw has not been kind to Alexander Zverev.
In the first round, Germany's top player must face world No. 41 Gabriel Diallo, a 2.03-meter Canadian giant even taller than Zverev himself.
An unprecedented matchup, and it's this very detail that worries Boris Becker.
"Sascha is used to looking down at his opponents. Now he has to look up. It's an unusual view," Becker explains on Eurosport Germany.
Before adding: "The problem is they've never faced each other. Usually, the better player figures it out over time.
And Zverev is clearly the better... but first he has to survive the initial clash," Becker emphasizes.
The Ghost of the 2020 US Open: The Match Haunting Zverev
Finally, to understand why Alexander Zverev still hasn't lifted a Grand Slam trophy, Boris Becker points to one specific moment: the 2020 US Open final against Dominic Thiem.
A match Zverev led two sets to zero but lost in five.
"In my view, if he'd won that final, he would already have three, four, or five Grand Slams today. That match would have unlocked him," Becker asserts.
In elite tennis, the line between champion and eternal contender is often psychological.
And that day, Becker believes, Zverev missed the trigger his career needed.
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