Former tennis great Boris Becker feels that compatriot Alexander Zverev can reach the summit of the ATP Rankings by the end of next year. However, Becker stressed that Zverev needs to win a few major titles in the upcoming season to achieve that feat. The former German tennis star feels that Zverev will end his career as the greatest German tennis player.

The 23-year-old recently won the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals as he defeated Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals and the finals respectively to lift the prestigious trophy. He defeated Medvedev by a dominant scoreline of  6-4, 6-4 in Turin and ended the year on a high. This was his second triumph after winning his first in 2018.

Zverev ended the current season at third position with 7,840 points. He is currently 800 points behind second-ranked Medvedev and 3700 points behind the ver dominant Novak Djokovic.

Becker recently expressed how he feels that Zverev has the talent to rule the tennis world for long. Becker feels that Zverev can take over Medvedev and Djokovic at the end of next season and for that, he needs to win a major title, something that the 24-year-old is yet to achieve.

“He won’t take it (the World No. 1 ranking) without a Grand Slam win,” Becker said. “The next big goal for Sascha Zverev has to be the number one [ranking]. He can make it next year in my eyes. But that’s only possible if he wins one or two Grand Slam tournaments.”

“You saw it this year: the clear number one was Djokovic with three Grand Slam wins, the clear number two was Medvedev with one Grand Slam win and the clear number three was Sascha,” Becker continued.

Becker highlighted Zverev’s quality on how winning the ATP Finals twice is not a mean feat for the young German. He has also grabbed the Gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics defeating Djokovic on his way to the finals.

The former World No. 1 wants Zverev to be the best German tennis star and that is when he will be content. He wants the youngster to take forward the german legacy in tennis.