Becker believes Zverev his own 'biggest opponent' after Varillas struggles: "You can't overcome a seven-month break, even with lots of training sessions
ATP
Boris Becker was glad to see Alexander Zverev pull out of a victory against Varillas but he also noted that the German himself is his biggest opponent.
Zverev needed five sets to take down Varrilas and while his opponent played well, the German allowed him to play well. When he wanted her turned it up and quite easily outplayed his opponent making Becker proclaim that he is his own biggest opponent. If he can stay out of his way, he can go far:
"There was a lot of talk about the supposedly easy draw for Sascha Zverev. I was always critical and said, 'the opponent doesn't matter at the moment'. He is his biggest opponent because of the long injury break. So, again, I don't care who he plays in the second round. The decisive player is Sascha Zverev. If he feels good and plays attackingly, he will also win the match - regardless of who is on the other side."
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He expanded a bit on his point saying:
"You can't overcome a seven-month break, even with lots of training sessions. In the match everything is new and different again - with a different tension. You could see that: He played very well in parts - like in the second set. You thought it was just as usual. But then he started thinking. The bottom line is that it's a good ending for Sascha because he now knows that the ankle is solid."
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