The former German No. 1: “Jannik is coming off five Slam finals in a row… Carlos is an artist who finally seems to have matured, even if he can lose to anyone.”
Boris Becker is a keen observer of tennis. A tireless television commentator, he is also in bookstores with his biography entitled “Inside. Winning, losing, starting from scratch,” published by Mondadori, in which he also recounts the difficult moments he spent in prison. Now, an Italian by adoption, he has returned permanently to tennis, recounting it with the eye of someone who has made history.
Boris, everyone is wondering: will we see another final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz here in Turin?
“If I take off my ‘German glasses’, I’d say the chances are very high. Jannik has looked in great shape so far, and the same goes for Carlos. The question mark for me is Zverev. He has the talent to beat both of them, especially indoors, but he needs to get back to his best.”
A few days ago, on Sports Predictions, we ran the headline “Bum Bum Jannik” because of all the aces he served. What do you think?
“I think Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill did a fantastic job after the US Open to improve Jannik’s serve. In the summer, that was the shot he was missing, especially in the final in New York: in my opinion, Alcaraz was the better player, but also the better server. The serve is the only shot where your opponent doesn’t participate; it’s totally in your hands. Since then, Jannik has changed his technique a bit, and his ball toss is also different. The big difference between Sinner in the summer and Sinner now is his serve, and indoors that counts for a lot.”
Speaking of serving, Toni Nadal argues that tennis is becoming a bit boring because it is the only sport that starts with a penalty kick, i.e., with the serve, and that something should be changed. Do you agree?
“I have a lot of respect for Toni, but I disagree on this point. I think tennis is experiencing a global boom: it has never been as popular as it is now. And that’s thanks to Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic: those three have taken tennis to another planet. Alcaraz and Sinner are keeping it there. What I’d like to see next year is some other players winning Slams. So far, it’s been almost exclusively Jannik and Carlos, which says a lot about them, but it would be nice to see others join the circle of winners.”
In 2026, both Carlos and Jannik could complete the Career Grand Slam. Who will be the first to do so?
“Meanwhile, I think the fact that Sinner has reached the final in all four Slams has gone a bit under the radar. It’s an incredible achievement. He lost in Paris and New York, but reaching the final in four Majors in a row—actually five, if we also count last year’s US Open—is something extraordinary, and it’s not talked about enough. For next year, the question mark is still the same: will Sinner and Alcaraz continue to dominate? They are young, they are still hungry, and at the moment, I find it hard to see anyone who can change this scenario.”
In the second half of the season, we saw a very solid Alcaraz in every aspect of the game, including mentally. In your opinion, has he made the definitive transition from “boy” to adult player?
“I’ve always seen Alcaraz as a tennis artist. And artists can be moody: they have great days and bad days. I’ve always thought that, at his best, Carlos was stronger than anyone, but on bad days he could also lose to much lower-ranked players. This year, that inconsistency has practically disappeared. He has matured. He deserves to be number 1, even if the fight is very close, because overall he has been the best player: his consistency has risen to a higher level. Jannik’s great strength has always been consistency; Carlos has worked hard on this aspect and has reaped the rewards.”
The top two players in the world are rivals and friends: have you ever been friends with one of your great rivals?
“In our day, we weren’t friends. It just didn’t happen. Imagine me being friends with McEnroe or Lendl… impossible. (Laughs, ed.) I got along well with Stefan Edberg, I respected him a lot, but it wasn’t like today. In my opinion, the issue of friendship between rivals has changed with Federer and Nadal. They transformed the way two great opponents behave towards each other, and that was a good thing: an excellent example for young people. I think it’s wonderful that Sinner and Alcaraz have this chemistry off the court: you can sense the great mutual respect they have for each other, they like each other, they have no problem doing things together. Yet on the court, they are fierce rivals. It’s a positive model for the new generation.“
And further ahead, in the future, who could join their idyll?
”I hope that Sascha Zverev, before the end of his career, manages to win at least one Slam. He has the talent to do it. Then we’ll have to wait for the next generation. I’m thinking of guys like Joao Fonseca, an Italian like Lorenzo Musetti, Jack Draper if he stays healthy, Ben Shelton… In my opinion, they are still a little way off that level, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them win a Major in the future.” He said of Musetti: he arrived here practically exhausted after eight consecutive weeks on court. Can he stay in the Top 5 next year?
“I think he made a real leap in quality here: his first appearance in the ATP Finals, his first entry into the Top 10. I felt sorry for him because he was clearly running out of energy against Alcaraz, his legs were gone. But I still see him growing. I don’t think world number 7 is the end of the road for Lorenzo. Yes, I think he can make it into the top 5.“
We are at the last tournament of the year, there is talk of the calendar being too compressed, but from 2028 there will also be another Masters 1000 in Saudi Arabia: what do you think about that?
”There are a lot of tournaments, that’s for sure. Ultimately, it’s up to the players to decide how many weeks they want to play in a row. But for fans, it’s difficult to follow tennis every week; it can become confusing. Sometimes there are two tournaments at the same time, and especially in the second half of the year, when everyone is trying to qualify for the Finals, the situation becomes complicated. I think there’s too much tennis. The public should ‘be a little hungry’: if there’s tennis every week, the offer becomes saturated. For the players, it’s an opportunity to always be working, but for the fans and the media, it’s really a lot, maybe too much.“
And that’s not all: next week is the Davis Cup Finals, with Italy defending its title and Germany. How do you see it?
”I’m going to Bologna for the ceremony in honor of Niki Pilic, and I’ll be leading the German team. We’re finally back competing for the Insaliatiera. And I’ll say more: with Zverev and a solid doubles team like Krawietz-Puetz, I think Germany is the team to beat.” Take Bum Bum’s word for it.
