Alexander Zverev has been urged by his compatriot, Boris Becker, to axe his brother and father from his coaching set-up. The 28-year-old has still never won a Grand Slam title despite reaching finals at the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open.

And Becker is eager for Zverev to end the 34-year wait for a German man to win a major title. He fell short again on Wednesday, when Novak Djokovic outclassed him in a four-set Roland-Garros battle and marched through to the French Open semi-finals. Off the back of that, Becker feels that it could be time for Zverev to shake things up behind the scenes.

He told Eurosport Germany: "[Zverev] had [Ivan] Lendl, [Juan Carlos] Ferrero, [David] Ferrer and [Sergi] Bruguera. It doesn’t get much better than that. But they were always embedded with his father and his brother. And I don’t think anyone new will come along in this constellation.

"If you take a look at [Rafael] Nadal’s career, Toni Nadal was there for a long time, then Carlos Moya or Francisco Roig came along at some point.

"How is [Jannik] Sinner doing? There have now been three successful years with Darren Cahill. Now there’s a new one coming. At some point you need new noises and a new environment.

"It’s the same in football, as a football coach you don’t normally stay with a club for 10 years. [Zverev] is the one who decides. He is the chairman of the board, the CEO. He decides what Team Zverev will look like in the future. His father and brother did an excellent job, but it wasn’t good enough for the final step."

Zverev is still in the prime years of his career, at least in terms of physicality, which should leave him plenty more chances to get his hands on a Grand Slam crown.

But with a crop of hungry up-and-comers hoping to upset the established pecking order, not to mention the fact Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are getting stronger with each passing year, Becker has stressed to Zverev that time is of the essence.

"The dream of a Grand Slam title isn’t over, but with every missed opportunity, it becomes more difficult," he explained. "The younger generation is getting better. The competition is not Djokovic’s generation, but that of Alcaraz and Sinner."