Boris Becker believes there is a clear favourite to win the Roland Garros title following Jannik Sinner’s surprise defeat.
Sinner was the huge favourite to win Roland Garros this year, having won five consecutive titles coming into the Paris major.
The world number one was on a 30-match winning streak heading into his second round match, before Sinner was beaten by Juan Manuel Cerundolo in a shock defeat.
Becker coached Novak Djokovic for three years, but the German believes there is someone more likely to win the Roland Garros title than the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
Boris Becker backs Alexander Zverev to win Roland Garros
Becker has a complicated relationship with Alexander Zverev, despite being compatriots.
Although they may not always agree, Becker is backing Zverev as the new favourite to win the Roland Garros title, picking him over the likes of Djokovic, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Rafael Jodar.
“If I may judge this from Alexander Zverev’s perspective: there is no player I should be afraid of,” Becker told TNT Sports.
“For me, as of today, he is the top favorite for the title. I say that with great respect for every possible opponent.
“Against Quentin Halys and Karen Khachanov, he is the favorite, Rafael Jódar is playing his first Grand Slam tournament, Novak Djokovic is 39 years old, and Felix Auger-Aliassime is not world-class on clay — sorry, but Sascha is simply better!”
Zverev’s third round opponent is Frenchman Quentin Halys, against whom he won his only previous meeting at the Miami Open earlier this year.
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Becker also reacted to Sinner’s defeat, claiming that the world number one was ‘simply drained’ in his defeat to Cerundolo.
“You just have to do the math: Jannik has been constantly on the road since the beginning of March,” said Becker. “He played in California, Florida, Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome – and kept winning.
“But at some point, this guy is simply drained. He’s human and just had a bad day today. … He was just empty. This was the one match too many.
“That can happen to anyone. In recent weeks, he had been playing as if he were from another planet, always switched on, always having to answer everyone’s questions – and then today’s match was simply one too many.”
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There has been a lot of discussion about what caused the physical fade of Sinner, who has claimed it was not related to the heat.
Becker believes that Sinner’s issues are mental rather than physical, which he believes contributed to the bad night sleep prior to his defeat to Cerundolo.
”For me, this can’t be physical, it has to be mental,” said Sinner. “We don’t know what’s going on inside him,” he said. “How much pressure is he putting on himself?
“He said he slept badly. When you’re overthinking and nervous, it’s hard to get any sleep.”
Sinner will now have a number of weeks away from the match court before he returns to defend his Wimbledon title.
