Rising Stars Of Men’s Tennis Lacking ‘Guts And Balls’ To Shine In Majors, Warns Boris Becker

Former world No.1 Boris Becker believes there needs to be more criticism towards the Next Gen of men’s tennis over their mixed results at grand slam tournaments.

Becker, who won his first grand slam title at the age of 17, have called upon the likes of Alexander Zverev to have ‘more balls’ and seize the moment in the big tournaments. At this year’s Australian Open only two out of the eight players to reach the quarter-final stage in the men’s draw are under the age of 26. Zverev at 22 and Dominic Thiem at the age of 26.

The outcome in Melbourne comes at a time where many are tipping 2020 to be the season where the next generation will breakthrough in the majors and end the dominance of the Big Three. A trio consisting of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Between them they have won the past 12 major titles.

“The young guns are missing a bit of guts. A bit of balls. A bit of “Ok, I’m here and I want to win and I’m going to do whatever it takes.” They all fit into the system a little bit and the question is who is advising them, who is coaching them.” Becker said on Eurosport’s Tennis Legends Vodcast.
“I think the whole picture knowing what it takes to win a major is not there with the younger players. They think it’s about tennis; it’s not about tennis, it’s about attitude and putting it out there on the line.”

In Becker’s view he believes that the young gun haven’t been able to cope well with the pressure placed on them. Linking their inability to breakthrough to the mental side of their game and not the physical.

“You don’t want to see Federer at 45 years old still winning against someone half his age! I think we should, in context, be a little more critical of them to wake them up.” He said.
“Everyone is catering to them and sugarcoating them –they are not winning any majors! That’s not good!”

Following his second round win at the Australian Open last week, Zverev warned that younger players are under more pressure than their predecessors. Blaming the growing impact of social media. The German has stated that he is limiting the time he spends on social media during his time in Melbourne, where he is yet to drop a set.

“Do I think is it more difficult for us than 20 years ago? Yes, maybe, because of the social media, mobile phones, of the opinions that everybody can spread out on the Internet.” Zverev commented on the pressure he and others players face.
“Even though when people say they don’t care, they still read it. In the back of their mind, they’re aware of it. So I think that is a massive difference.”

Weighing in on the debate, John McEnroe believes the problem goes beyond the mental side. Also criticising the next Gen, the self-proclaimed ‘commissioner of tennis’ says they lack a back up plan when something goes wrong.

“It’s more the mental part, but technically they haven’t advanced their games enough and they think it’s just going to happen.” McEnroe argues.
“You need to have a plan B or plan C if it’s not working particularly well. When you saw Federer play against Millman, he’s 38 years old,his opponent is playing out of his mind, and is really taking it to him –you can see his mind working, trying to figure out how do I break this guy down.’
“Federer tried four, five, six different things.He’d bring him in with the slice, he hit top spin, he tried to go down the line, he moved more cross-court, he started serving and volleying, he tried to bring Millman in –all those things happened within the match and he still barely won it.’
“I want to see Shapovalov and some of these young players make adjustments on the fly and that’s what the big thing is.”

At present on the men’s tour, Thiem and Daniil Medvedev are the only active players under the age of 30 to have won a set in the final of a grand slam tournament.

How have the top 20 players under the age of 26 performed at the Australian Open?

Note: Based on rankings as of 27/1/2020
* still in tournament