Becker’s evening in Paris turned into a peace offering. The former Paris Masters winner performed the coin toss at the Plenitude Arena, sat in the front row for the final and joined Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton on court for the trophy ceremony. In the preceding week he had been at the centre of the sport’s loudest off-court story, a spat with Zverev stirred up by a long Becker interview in Der Spiegel.
By Sunday night, the 58-year-old was keen to let the temperature drop.
Speaking in Paris after Alcaraz’s win, Becker told reporters that the dispute had been overblown.
“Everything is being blown way out of proportion. A lot is being exaggerated, a lot of headlines.”
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He went further and offered his warmest line yet on the German world number one.
“It’s the best thing that could have happened to Germany, that we have such a true superstar.”
Shelton catches himself: ‘Sorry, sorry, sorry’
The trophy ceremony delivered its own small moment of grace. Alcaraz had just beaten Shelton 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 to claim his first Paris Masters title when the American runner-up realised he had skipped over the night’s man of honour. Shelton turned to Becker.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! I forgot one thing, I can’t… To Boris,” he said.
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Becker waved it away.
“It’s okay! Forget about me.”
Alcaraz, who was presented with the trophy by Becker, closed his own speech with a word for the German, who stood beside him throughout the ceremony.
The Spiegel criticism Zverev pushed back on
Becker’s Spiegel interview had questioned why Zverev is not a bigger domestic favourite at home. He pointed to Zverev’s Russian-speaking background with his team on court, the absence of public comment from him on the war in Ukraine, and the gap between his dry tone in German press conferences and a warmer version in English.
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Zverev pushed back on 5 November after a defeat by Lorenzo Musetti at the Paris Masters, which ended his week in the French capital without a win. “I don’t know what’s going on with him right now, but I get the feeling he has to comment on everything I do,” he told reporters. “I found it kind of strange that he thinks I have to express my political views.”
Becker’s Paris reply carried no edge. In German remarks to Eurosport, he said he had great respect for Zverev and wished him well for Turin, and insisted a full reading of the Spiegel piece would show he had not been disrespectful.
Zverev heads to Turin as world number one
Zverev reached world number one for the first time on 2 November on 9,550 ranking points, with Jannik Sinner on 9,450 and Alcaraz third on 6,100. The Nitto ATP Finals run from 15 to 22 November at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, with the group-stage draw on Thursday, 12 November.
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