World No.7 Alexander Zverev believes rival Nick Kyrgios isn’t currently at the level that would make him a contender to win a grand slam title at the upcoming Australian Open.
The German tennis star believes the 24-year-old isn’t ready for grand slam success. Currently ranked 26th in the world, Kyrgios is entering Melbourne as his country’s top player in the men’s draw following the withdrawal of Alex de Mianaur due to injury. He is a two-time grand slam quarter-finalist, however, the last time he reached the last eight of a major was almost five years ago in 2015. In 2019 he only managed to win back-to-back matches in one out of three majors played.
“There’s a lot of young guys that are right now, no offence, just better than him,” Zverev told reporters on Friday.
“This is not a three-set match where you can win in an hour-and-20 (minutes) and get off the court.
“To beat the best, you have to play at your best for a longer period of time.”
Zverev, who will be seeded seventh in this year’s Australian Open draw, is also yet to make a major breakthrough in the grand slams. Like Kyrgios, he has been tipped as one of the future stars of the sport. His best result was reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open two years straight. The two have locked horns seven times on the tour so far in their careers with Kyrgios narrowly leading the head-to-head 4-3.
Besides dismissing his opponent’s chances, Zverev said he was unsure as to why there wasn’t more hype surrounding de Minaur. A player who beat him in three sets during the ATP Cup last week.
“Alex De Minaur is just simply more consistent right now as well,” he said.
“I don’t know why not a lot of people talk about him because he’s been playing unbelievable at the ATP Cup.”
On the same day as Zverev’s remarks, former world No.1 John McEnroe has once again urged Kyrgios to hire a mentor on the tour. Branding him as an ‘excellent tennis player,’ he said the Australian needs to elevate his game further if he wishes to win the biggest titles in the sport.
“To me, he needs someone that he respects and listens to and then he’d have to actually listen to the person, if indeed the person was going to be able to help him. You can’t help someone unless they want to help themselves.” McEnroe said during an interview with theage.com.au.
The Australian Open will get underway on Monday. Zverev will play Marco Cecchinato in the first round and Kyrgios faces Lorenzo Sonego.
