Boris Becker 'worried' about Wimbledon star after frank mental health admissions
Boris Becker says he is concerned about Alexander Zverev after he made eye-catching comments following his exit from Wimbledon. Zverev crashed out of the tournament in the first round, losing to world No.72 Arthur Rinderknech, before opening up on his mental health struggles.
The 28-year-old is a three-time Grand Slam finalist and was the No.3 seed at Wimbledon, but crashed out after losing a five-set epic. Rinderknech triumphed 7-6 (3) 6-7 (8) 6-3 6-7 (5) 6-4 after four hours and 40 minutes, prompting Zverev to open up in his post-match press conference.
The German, who has been accused of domestic abuse by an ex-girlfriend – allegations that are unproven and have been denied – said he was considering therapy because he felt 'very alone' and was struggling mentally. Becker, a three-time Wimbledon champion, found his words extremely emotional.
'I watched the press conference live and I cried. A person opened up and said, 'I have problems, I have mental problems, help me. I don't have anyone around me except my daughter, who is four years old, with whom I like to spend time, where I laugh and smile',' Becker said on the Boris Petkovic podcast.
'This was a person who revealed himself and that's why, for the first time, I'm a little worried about his mental health. He can play tennis, he'll win tournaments, he'll lose a few, but how is he doing personally?"
Zverev has reached the final of the US Open, Australian Open and French Open, but has never made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon. After losing an epic which spanned two days against Rinderknech he explained his feelings.
'I feel very alone out there at times,' he said. 'I struggle mentally. I've been saying that since after the Australian Open. Yeah, just don't know. I'm trying to find ways, trying to find ways to kind of get out of this hole. I keep kind of finding myself back in it in a way.
'Yeah, I don't know. I feel, generally speaking, quite alone in life at the moment, which is a feeling that is not very nice.
'It's not a feeling on a tennis court, it's just a life feeling in general. As I said, I never felt this way before. I don't know. It's difficult to find joy outside the tennis court for me at the moment.
'It's not an excuse or anything. I think Arthur deserved to win today. It's something I've felt for the past few months. Again, I just feel generally very, very alone and very lonely. I don't know. Just never felt that way before. I don't have the answers right now.'
Asked if he would start therapy, Zverev responded: 'Yeah, maybe. Maybe for the first time in my life I'll probably need it.
'I've been through a lot of difficulties. I've been through a lot of difficulties in the media. I've been through a lot of difficulties in life generally. I've never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy, just lacking joy in everything that I do. It's not necessarily about tennis. Just lacking joy outside of tennis, as well.'
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