"You still have to make an effort" says a very disappointed Becker on Zverev at Australian Open

Boris Becker was one of the most vocal analysts about Zverev and his chance at the Australian Open so when Zverev lost to Shapovalov, the German tennis legend was left very disappointed.

Not many people believed as much in Alexander Zverev as Boris Becker did. The German was adamant about his compatriot and his ability to win the Australian Open but Zverev lost to Denis Shapovalov. Becker, as most people can imagine, was left visibly disappointed as he pointed out that the result in Australia will be a telltale sign about Zverev and his career.

Speaking about the match, Becker said:

"Very disappointing. Sascha never found his game, he didn't develop dynamism or aggression. Right from the start, you had the feeling that Shapovalov was always a step ahead. The Canadian was livelier. I haven't seen Zverev that passive for a very long time."

Becker was particularly disappointed on the perceived lack of effort from Zverev who did not show any passion on the court accepting the defeat calmly:

"You can lose and play badly, but you still have to make an effort and leave your soul on the pitch. We missed that today. Sascha's dream of being number one in the world after the Australian Open now is over. He has to think about what happened there. He was brimming with confidence before but something has happened from Australia these past few weeks."

Adding further on what did not work for Zverev he said:

"His big strength is his serve, but today it was just three aces with eight double faults. He waited too long on the baseline for that and only played the ball back – hoping that the opponent would make a mistake. But Shapovalov is too good for that. He never really put pressure on Shapovalov and pushed. The round of 16 is not enough for a top player like Zverev."