ATP: Petchey praises Zverev:”Other youngsters would wish for his qualities”.

Alexander Zverev, aged 20, is undisputedly among the world’s top five players. According to former professional Mark Petchey, the German will certainly win a Grand Slam title.

It’s no longer a mystery that Alexander Zverev is one of the favourites for a tournament victory in which the 20-year-old Hamburg player strikes. Many experts rank number four in the world among the forthcoming Grand Slam winners of the future.

Now the British ex-pro Mark Petchey did not let himself be taken away from expressing his admiration for “Sascha”. Petchey looked after his compatriot Andy Murray at the beginning of his career in 2005 and 2006. Because of an injury, the 47-year-old had to quit his professional career at the age of 28,”I’m not worried. He is only 20 years old and had a fantastic start to his career. People told the same crap about Roger Federer at the beginning of his career – the rest is history,”explained Petchey at Sky Sports.

The British statement is a reaction to criticism of Zverev after the defeat of the German in the second round against Andreas Seppi in Rotterdam. After a strong start Zverev broke in and had to say goodbye early as a co-favorite. Petchey’s belief in the great coup of the German number one does not detract from this:”I have no doubt at all that Zverev will win Grand Slam tournaments in the future”.

According to Petchey, the time factor is decisive, the 20-year-old has enough time to develop:”Once he has reached a certain point in a major, he will also win a victory.”

The Briton could not understand the harsh criticism of Zverev either. Many countries would want such a top star at this age, Petchey added.

For Zverev, especially the upcoming Masters tournaments in the USA will be another touchstone in the up-and-coming career of the German. Zverev could expand his Masters collection of two triumphs so far. In Rome and Montréal, Zverev surprised the competition and beat superstars Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the respective finals.