"Alexander Zverev has gained self-confidence, he's taken very seriously again by top players" - Boris Becker confident of German's chances at US Open

Boris Becker, 6-time Major winner, was recently invited by Eurosport to discuss Alexander Zverev's prospects of making a return to the top-most echelons of the game.

The German claimed that the 26-year-old was slowly beginning to hit his stride once again, alluding to how he reached the semifinals at last week's Cincinnati Open against all odds.

He then asserted that Zverev has now once again solidified himself as a serious threat to other top players on the ATP Tour.

"He has found his hard-court form, the big hope is, of course, if he can bring that to New York. Now I think he has gained enough match practice over the year, he has gained enough self-confidence. In this respect, he is being taken very seriously again by the world's top players, and that is a good sign for him," Becker said.

Becker also expressed happiness at his compatriot regaining his old physical conditioning, which allowed him to go all the way at the 2023 Hamburg European Open recently.

"He has now played the tournaments to the end without injury and has actually improved from month to month, and the knot burst in Paris. He was okay on grass, I'll call it that, and then he won Hamburg, and I think now he's also back in his head, where he says 'Okay, I've done my homework, physically I'm fit'," Becker added.

Alexander Zverev was playing some great tennis in 2022 when he unfortunately injured his ankle in a freak incident while facing off against Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of Roland Garros. He was subsequently forced to miss Wimbledon and the US Open due to the injury.

The German was then all-set to make his much-awaited return in September. However, he had to rule out the prospects of making a comeback in 2022 at the last moment due to further complications involving a bone edema.

"Alexander Zverev's already in the top eight, and for me that's absolute world class" - Boris Becker

Alexander Zverev celebrates after beating Daniil Medvedev in Cincinnati

Finally making his comeback in 2023, Alexander Zverev fell outside of the top 25 in the ATP rankings as issues with his form and physical conditioning persisted. The German, however, was able to eventually regroup by reaching the semifinals at the 2023 French Open and winning the ATP 500 tournament in Hamburg.

By virtue of the aforementioned victories, he was able to crack the top 20 once again. The 26-year-old then hit top form at last week's Cincinnati Open, where he beat Daniil Medvedev en-route to a semifinals result. The last-four run at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament allowed him to rise to No. 8 in the live ATP Race to Turin.

In that context, Becker believes that even though Zverev is ranked outside of the men's top 10 currently, his level in 2023 has been "world-class."

"You've addressed his place as number twelve in the world, but what's decisive is that of this year's players he's already in the top eight, and for me that's absolute world class."

Alexander Zverev, ranked World No. 12 at the moment, will be looking to make his return to the top 10 with a good finish at the upcoming US Open — where he has no ranking points to defend.