"You can lose and play badly, but you still have to make an effort and leave your soul on the pitch" - Boris Becker on Alexander Zverev's Australian Open loss
Tennis great Boris Becker has criticized Alexander Zverev's lack of effort in his surprise loss to Denis Shapovalov at the Australian Open. The six-time Major champion also questioned the 24-year-old's passive tactics in the fourth-round encounter.
Shapovalov stunned the German 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 in two hours and 21 minutes at Margaret Court Arena. The Canadian secured a single break for 3-1 en route to claiming the first set after saving two break points in the opening game.
The German then came back from 0-2 down in the second set to lead 5-3, but was broken when he served to level the match after double faulting twice. Shapovalov edged the set after earning four mini breaks in a tiebreak.
The World No. 14 continued his strong run by breaking Zverev for 2-0 in the third set, before sealing a convincing upset victory. The 22-year-old will face No. 6 seed Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
Denis Shapovalov upsets world no. 3 
Alexander Zverev in straight sets at the #AusOpen!🇨🇦 Denis Shapovalov upsets world no. 3 🇩🇪 Alexander Zverev in straight sets at the #AusOpen! https://t.co/bGDavZwh7m
Speaking to Eurosport, Becker condemned the 24-year-old's lack of aggression and declared that he did not leave everything he had on the court.
"Very disappointing," Becker said. "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. 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."
The two-time Australian Open champion then highlighted the fact the World No. 3 has missed the opportunity to claim top spot in the ATP rankings after the tournament.
"Sascha's dream of being number one in the world after the Australian Open now is over," Becker continued. "He has to think about what happened there. He was brimming with confidence before but something has happened from Australia these past few weeks."
"The round of 16 is not enough for a top player like Alexander Zverev" - Boris Becker
Boris Becker further explained how Alexander Zverev's passivity led to his downfall in his Australian Open defeat to Denis Shapovalov. The German also asserted that losing in the last 16 of a Grand Slam is a major disappointment for a player of the World No. 3's caliber.
"His big strength is his serve, but today it was just three aces with eight double faults," Becker said. "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."
The 24-year-old now holds a concerning 4-15 record against players ranked in the top 20 in Major events. The Olympic champion is also yet to defeat a top-10-ranked opponent at a Grand Slam (0-11 record).
Zverev vs top 20 at slams: 4:18
Zverev vs top 20 overall on tour: 72:67
The third seed had beaten Daniel Altmaier, John Millman and Radu Albot without losing a set to progress to the fourth round in Melbourne.