According to Boris Becker, Jannik Sinner is no longer the favorite
Jannik Sinner’s defeat at Roland Garros has cast doubt on his dominance on the tour: Boris Becker doesn’t mince words in an interview with Eurosport. The Italian tennis player, who arrived in Paris as the favorite, was eliminated in the second round by Juan Manuel Cerundolo due to illness, and according to Becker, this could shake up the rankings at Wimbledon as well, scheduled for late June.
“For me, Zverev is the favorite,” Becker declared. “Alcaraz is injured, and we don’t know what condition Sinner will be in when he returns to the court after what happened.” According to the German tennis legend, Zverev has everything it takes to win in London: “Sascha has the perfect serve for grass-court tennis; with that serve, you’re already in the semifinals. Of course, he has to adapt. If he plays as deep as he did in Paris at Wimbledon, it won’t work. But he has what it takes to triumph at Wimbledon as well.”
“Zverev has become one of the Big Three alongside Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz,” Becker assured. “I see no reason why he shouldn’t win more Grand Slams, even though Sinner and Alcaraz are still in the mix. He has the potential, and at 29, he’s also at the right age to achieve it over the next two or three years. My advice to him, at 29, is: ‘Win everything you can, because at some point your time will run out.’”
To clarify his condition, Sinner underwent a comprehensive series of cardiac and metabolic tests at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan. The tests reportedly revealed no significant physical issues: what happened in Paris is believed to be attributable to a general state of fatigue, which developed after more than two months of intense competitive activity with few opportunities for recovery, exacerbated by the extreme weather conditions in the French capital. It should be noted that in the first half of 2026, Sinner had won five consecutive Masters 1000 tournaments, a tour de force that had inevitably taken a toll on his energy.
Sinner has resumed intense training in Monte Carlo to be in top form for Wimbledon, where he will be defending the title he won in 2025. The champion from Sesto Pusteria will also participate in the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic, the prestigious exhibition tournament on the grass courts of London’s Hurlingham Club, a traditional warm-up event for the British Grand Slam: a valuable opportunity to regain confidence on the grass surface ahead of the Championships, scheduled to begin on June 29. Zverev, for his part, has already stated that he hopes for a head-to-head match at Wimbledon against the world number one, though he acknowledged in no uncertain terms that “throughout the year I’ve felt good and played well against everyone except Jannik.”
