Boris Becker wanted to see more out of his top player at the season-starting ATP Cup—more effort, more fight, more passion.
Team Germany had just been eliminated from the inaugural team competition in Brisbane, and Becker expressed disappointment in Alexander Zverev’s effort as Germany’s No. 1 singles player.
Zverev, who went 0-3 in group play, largely contributed his poor start to a lack of practice. Becker, however, questioned that logic.
“You practice more for what? It’s all in the match. You gotta put the effort in, you gotta put your heart and soul out there,” Becker said.
“I want to see blood, sweat and tears. I didn’t see that in the last two matches. First match was disappointing. He was up a set and a break. But I didn’t see no blood, sweat and tears with [Stefanos] Tsitsipas and with [Denis] Shapovalov.”
Two weeks later, Zverev shrugged off the slow start and reached his first major semifinal at the Australian Open.
But if you were looking to find a coach who knows all about giving everything you have, you couldn’t find anyone better for the job than David Ferrer, the all-time overachiever who now helps coach Zverev, along with Zverev’s father, Alexander Zverev Sr.
“[He’s] just somebody that I respected so much during the career and after the career, as well.” — Alexander Zverev
“[He’s] just somebody that I respected so much during the career and after the career, as well,” Zverev said of Ferrer.
Neither of the two are with Zverev in New York, but he communicates with them regularly and has done OK without them.
The 23-year-old faces 32nd seed Adrian Mannarino of France on Friday for a chance to make back-to-back Round-of-16 showings at the US Open. Zverev has never reached a quarterfinal in Queens.
The winner will meet Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The 21-year-old is ranked No. 99 and was 5-14 at tour-level before the US Open. But he’s now through to his first fourth round at a major.
Zverev and Ferrer started working together in July, and Zverev has been impressed with the Spanish legend, who is widely admired for his work ethic.
Zverev said he’s enjoying his tennis much more so than in the past and knows how important that is to his overall success.
“We said that we're going to have a trial period, and in that trial period, he was so unbelievably well-organized, and the work has been incredible... I enjoyed the practices more than I did in the last few years,” said Zverev, who has worked with former world No. 1s Ivan Lendl and Juan Carlos Ferrero in recent times.
“I think he's enjoying it, I'm enjoying it, and he said the most important thing is to have fun with what you do. Once you have fun, you're going to be better, anyways.”
Ferrer had a Hall-of-Fame career as a player before retiring in May 2019. He reached world No. 3, made the 2013 Roland Garros final, and won 27 titles, including the 2012 Paris Masters.
He accomplished all of that in an era that saw the Big Four of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray dominate and in which being more than 6-feet tall became nearly a prerequisite for success in the men’s game.
Ferrer played his final contest at the 2019 Madrid Masters. He lost in straight sets to Zverev.
"He's the most respectful guy for me on tour, and one of the most loved people on the tour, as well," Zverev said at the time.
After his final match, Ferrer was asked what type of legacy he thought he’d leave behind. He responded with an answer that summed up his career and one that would make Becker proud: “I fight until [the] last point.”
