Boris Becker points out the skill which Alexander Zverev has lost this year which is causing him to lose matches

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Alexander Zverev started the year in fine form, but has struggled over recent months.

The German star kicked off his 2025 campaign with a run to the Australian Open final, where Zverev lost to Jannik Sinner in straight sets, 6-7, 3-6, 6-7.

He failed to impress on his first visit to South America for the ATP Tour’s ‘golden swing’ events in Buenos Aires and Rio.

Two early exits at Indian Wells and the Miami Open followed, before Zverev lost to Matteo Berrettini in his Monte-Carlo opener.

Bouncing back, Zverev won his first title of the year in Munich, taking down America’s Ben Shelton in the final.

Unable to build on that result, Zverev failed to reach the last four at his next three tournaments, losing in the Madrid Open fourth round, Italian Open quarterfinals, and Hamburg Open second round.

As he now looks ahead to the French Open, Zverev’s fellow German, Boris Becker, pinpoints the skill he has lost this year, which is costing him in the crucial moments.

Boris Becker thinks Alexander Zverev has lost his ‘killer instinct’ in 2025

Speaking on the Becker Petkovic podcast, former French Open semi-finalist Andrea Petkovic highlighted the attribute shared by several tennis champions.

“I’ve observed it so many times, especially with the great champions, with Novak [Djokovic], with Rafa [Nadal], Roger [Federer], of course, and also with Jannik [Sinner], and sometimes less so with Carlos [Alcaraz]. Carlos is a bit of an exception because he’s such a playful kid,” she said.

“But I call it the killer instinct.

“The killer instinct is about being tough under pressure.

“Having the killer instinct is being like a predator, where you smell weakness, slam the lid on it, and then it’s over.”

Becker then gave his verdict on whether Zverev still has the ‘killer instinct’ inside of him.

“I’m convinced he has that killer instinct, otherwise, he wouldn’t be number two in the world, he wouldn’t have been at the top for years,” he said.

“But right now, I’m only talking about right now, this year, since February, March, April, he doesn’t have that killer instinct.”

Zverev has struggled over the past four months, although those struggles have been somewhat masked by his impressive showing in Melbourne.

How does Alexander Zverev stack up compared to his ATP rivals post-Australian Open?

When looking at this year’s ATP ‘Race to Turin’, you’d be forgiven for questioning what all the fuss is about, considering Zverev is only ranked behind two players for points amassed in 2025.

However, if you subtract points earned during the Australian Open, the picture becomes much clearer as to the issues Zverev has faced over recent months.

Zverev wouldn’t currently be sitting in the ATP Finals qualification spots had he not reached the final of the Australian Open in January.

He’ll certainly be looking for a big performance in Paris to maintain his place in the top eight of the ‘Race to Turin’.

Zverev lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final of last year’s French Open, proving his class on the clay once again.

The German has been a consistent threat at the sole clay court Grand Slam, reaching the quarterfinals six times during his career to date.

• 2024 French Open – Alexander Zverev lost in F
• 2023 French Open – Alexander Zverev lost in SF
• 2022 French Open – Alexander Zverev lost in SF
• 2021 French Open – Alexander Zverev lost in SF
• 2020 French Open – Alexander Zverev lost in 4R
• 2019 French Open – Alexander Zverev lost in QF
• 2018 French Open – Alexander Zverev lost in QF
• 2017 French Open – Alexander Zverev lost in 1R
• 2016 French Open – Alexander Zverev lost in 3R

Only time will tell if he can make another deep run in 2025 when the tournament begins on Sunday, May 25.