"I thought someone had made a mistake" - Boris Becker on being surprised by Rafael Nadal-Alexander Zverev French Open 1R draw

Boris Becker recently admitted to being surprised when he saw that Rafael Nadal would be taking on Alexander Zverev in the opening round of this year's French Open. The German was initially under the misconception that both players were seeded at the tournament.

Fourth seed Zverev and Nadal have set up a grand clash with each other to get their runs underway. The duo faced in the semifinals at the Paris Major in 2022 where after three hours and three minutes of brutal tennis, the German tore his ankle ligaments bringing the match to an anti-climatic end.

German legend Boris Becker said that he was in disbelief when he saw the draw initially and thought that someone had made a mistake. He eventually realized that Nadal wasn't seeded which led to this blockbuster matchup.

“In the beginning, I didn't believe it and thought that someone had made a mistake. Only then did I realize that Nadal wasn't seeded this year. So it was logical," Becker said to Eurosport.

The German then said that he made this mistake because he was used to seeing the Spaniard being one of the top seeds in Paris every year.

“But at first I actually thought that they were both seeded - because you're just used to Rafa being seeded first or second in Paris.”

“The fans will be behind Rafael Nadal, but that doesn't mean they're against Alexander Zverev” - Boris Becker

Rafael Nadal

Continuing his thoughts, Boris Becker said that though the fans will be behind Rafael Nadal, they would still sympathize with Alexander Zverev. Having said that, he also said that on the court Phillipe-Chatrier, the Spaniard was bound to be the favorite.

“The fans will be behind him, but that doesn't mean they're against Sascha,” he said. “He also has sympathy on his side. But of course, if you play against Nadal on Philippe-Chatrier, you can assume that the majority will be on his side," Boris Becker said.

The German mentioned the only thing Zverev could do was bring his A-game and eventually win the match. With the entire tennis world watching, Becker felt that the match would be highly explosive.

“Sascha can't change that, but can only respond with a good performance - and ultimately with victory. It will be a highly emotional, explosive match that the entire tennis world will be watching live.”

The main draw of the French Open will begin on 26th May, however, Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev will play their match a day later on Monday.