Long before Boris Becker’s life spiralled into scandal and a prison term, the German – arguably the biggest star of tennis in the late 1980s – dodged a bullet in Melbourne.
It was 1991, Becker, 23, already had three Wimbledon titles and a US Open crown when he faced little-known Italian Omar Camporese in what, theoretically, shaped as a straightforward third-round match for the No.2 seed at the Australian Open.
But what followed was far from regulation. In fact, it was brutal, as Camporese – the world No.45 – pushed Becker to the limit for five hours and 11 minutes – at that point the longest match in the event’s history.
The life and times of Boris Becker.Credit: Artwork: Marija Ercegovac
In typical gruelling January heat on court one (which later became Margaret Court Arena), Becker won the first two sets in tie-breakers, but slumped to a 6-0 deficit in the third, setting the scene for a thrilling finale.
“We can say tanking,” Camporese recalled when asked to explain the 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5), 0-6 mid-match scoreline. “When I made the second break [in the third set], he tanked a little bit. He takes the energy for the fourth set.”
Becker got his nose in front 14-12 in a final set that lasted more than two hours. Instead of packing his bags and again making an early trip to the airport, then 23-year-old Becker went on to claim the title, stopping Ivan Lendl from winning three in a row, and securing the world No.1 ranking for the first and only time in his career.
Decades later, Becker fondly remembers the match and the day, confirming that he and Camporese reflected on it late last year at the ATP Finals in Turin.
“Yeah, for me it was good memories, for him, not so good,” Becker told this masthead.
“Winning a grand slam [event] is very difficult. Very, very few players go through the rounds, not losing a set – that’s not normal.”
This year’s Australian Open marks 30 years since Boris Becker’s 1996 win over Michael Chang – the sixth and final grand slam title of his career.Credit: Getty Images
Becker’s dazzling career included a number of big moments in Australia; the final two of his six career slams came in Melbourne.
Seven years before his ’91 breakthrough, just days after his 17th birthday, he made the quarter-finals at the Open on Kooyong’s grass, a harbinger to him becoming Wimbledon’s youngest ever male champion just months later.
In 1996, Becker was again triumphant at the Australian Open, beating Michael Chang. “I didn’t think I had a grand slam left in me,” he said afterwards.
But for all the on-court highs, there have been many more headline-grabbing lows.
One of the biggest names in tennis history, a highly successful player who was by Novak Djokovic’s side as his coach for six of the Serbian’s 24 grand slam titles, Becker fell foul of authorities for serious white-collar offences (tax evasion in Germany more than 20 years ago and, more recently, breaches of the UK’s Insolvency Act). In 2022, he was jailed by British authorities for 2½ years, though Becker served far less time than that in exchange for deportation to Germany.
In his own words, featured in documentaries and a book published last year that detailed his incarceration, Inside – Winning. Losing. Starting Again, Becker has been humbled by the strong arm of the law.
Becker coaching Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in 2014.Credit: Photographic
When Australia was gripped by Nick Kyrgios’ charge to the Wimbledon final and a showdown against Djokovic three-and-a-half years ago, the German was watching on too – but from a prison cell. Djokovic had invited Becker’s partner (Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, whom the German later married) and Becker’s eldest son Noah into his players’ box for the first round.
“It’s an open secret that Novak and me are still very close. It was a wonderful time being his coach, his mentor, and we kept a close friendship ever since,” Becker said.
“Throughout all these matches, in particular in the final, I saw my wife and my son … rooting for him. That was a very emotional time while I was inside.”
The lowest point
Becker has been synonymous with juicy tabloid stories for decades – since he famously surged into the public’s consciousness with his first Wimbledon success as a fresh-faced teen. Only late last year the 58-year-old became a father for the fifth time when Lilian gave birth to a baby girl.
Becker is also commonly remembered for a paternity suit that stemmed from a brief encounter with Russian model Angela Ermakova at London’s Nobu restaurant in 1999.
It was April four years ago when he was jailed in the UK for hiding millions of pounds worth of assets after being declared bankrupt in 2017. He had been found guilty of tax evasion charges in Germany two decades earlier but escaped with a suspended prison sentence – though he was fined €500,000.
But his 2022 situation was more serious and had far greater ramifications. He faced 29 counts under the Insolvency Act, and though five were dropped before the trial and he was acquitted of 20, he was convicted on four.
The country that played host to three of his grand slam victories, at Wimbledon, also witnessed his downfall.
Pointedly, in sentencing, judge Deborah Taylor criticised Becker for a lack of remorse, telling the German, “[you] sought to distance yourself from the offending in your bankruptcy”.
Her remarks were stark.
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“You have lost your career, reputation and all of your property as a result of your bankruptcy.”
Becker’s financial woes are myriad. In his book, the German gave a glimpse of how his finances were spiralling out of control in 2013.
“Things are looking … maybe not so good. My money is … let’s just say it could be working better,” he wrote in Inside, reliving the thoughts that dominated his prison flashbacks.
He described himself as “asset rich but cash poor”, losing deals and not earning enough to keep up with the demands of his lifestyle.
He described spending more to try to get his assets saleable, and struggling to pay the interest on loans worth millions of euros. But it was good money chasing bad.
“This is when the sinking feeling kicks in. At first, the interest rate from [the private bank] has been manageable – five per cent. But there’s trouble ahead. I’m losing sponsors and I’m losing endorsements. My public image is not where it was. Endless tabloid stories, one shit headline after another,” he wrote.
“Things start falling apart, in Germany and then everywhere else. Broadcasting is OK. They still want me to talk about tennis. I still want to talk about tennis. The rest of it is terrible. I’m losing big contracts early. Mercedes I’ve been with for ages, but now they say they have a different marketing plan, going forward. I’m not making any new contracts to replace the ones that disappear.”
Once sentenced, Becker served time at London’s notorious HMP Wandsworth prison – coincidentally close to the famed Wimbledon precinct – before being transferred to HMP Huntercombe.
As a German national living in the UK, he was eligible for an early release scheme that expedites the deportation of foreign prisoners. After serving only eight months of his sentence, he was released in December that year and sent to his native country.
In Inside, Becker points out that in other jurisdictions, his crimes would not have been dealt with so harshly.
“Let me just say that there was so much nonsense written about me leading up to my trial,” he told this masthead.
“I felt the necessity and the urge just to put matter-of-factly [in the book] things that happened and didn’t happen to me – and also what I was acquitted for and, and what I was sentenced for.
“Once you just read it [my case] unemotionally, you’ll be surprised that someone would be sentenced for something like that, but UK law is different to German law, [it’s also] different to Italian law, so for the same mistakes, shall I say, I wouldn’t have gotten a penalty in Germany [or] Italy.
“But on the other hand, I’m the last one is pointing fingers at other people, right. I’ve done my mistakes. I’ve paid my dues.”
Too successful, too young?
Becker speaks frankly now about his early career experiences, and readily admits that winning Wimbledon while still green behind the ears probably did more harm than good.
“I think it [my story] really starts [with] winning Wimbledon at 17, and people start calling you a wunderkind, obviously you’re bound to meet a lot of people – some are good and some are not so good for you,” said Becker, who was also a celebrity poker player in retirement.
“But you are too young to realise who has true value, who is sincere and who’s not, and that really [has been my situation] all the way up [for me] until my 40s.”
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Asked about the salient lessons from his life story, one of Becker’s key messages is “not to lose faith”.
“There hasn’t been many, many, examples of how to deal with [winning] Wimbledon [at] 17 because nobody [else] has done it,” he said.
“That set me up for a very different life than a normal teenager or a normal young, young man that starts into life. But the key is always choose your friends wisely. Also after a big high, there could be a big low, and after a big low, there could be a big high.
“Life’s long, life’s a marathon, and yes, you have some good years, and you have some bad years, but important is [it] to continue and not to lose faith, and ultimately listen to your family and have a couple of good friends on the side.”
The Australian connection
Australians, and a range of experiences playing tennis in Australia, are intertwined in the storied Becker career.
When farewelled to Wimbledon’s centre court in 1999, it was Pat Rafter who delivered the knockout blow.
When the elusive Australian Open title first fell his way 35 years ago, it was an Australian coach, Bob Brett, smiling with satisfaction in the stands.
Becker on his way to his maiden Australian Open title in 1991.Credit: Allsport UK
And when the German was striving for a third straight Wimbledon title in 1987 as one of the hottest players in the game, duelling it out with Stefan Edberg and Lendl among others, a little-known Australian, Peter Doohan, shocked him in a famous second-round boilover. Incidentally, Doohan’s moment in the sun helped pave the way for Pat Cash to claim the title that year.
Despite a chequered record in Australia, the stars aligned for Becker in 1991. Pete Sampras had won his first major only months before at the US Open but was missing due to shin splints. John McEnroe, too, was absent with a shoulder injury.
In that epic match against Camporese, there was another helpful intervention.
“I lost because [at] 12-12 … I think it was 40-15 and I was serving … Steffi Graf came to see the match,” Camporese said.
“I was really in love with her. I saw her … I was a little bit distracted.”
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A week or so later, his he Once Becker got past Camporese, he only had to eliminate Wayne Ferriera, Guy Forget and Patrick McEnroe – yes, John McEnroe’s little brother – in the semis to reach his first Australian men’s final. There Becker overcomeovercame a 1-6 opening set to silence ruthless Czech Lendl in four sets in the final.
Becker’s pivotal career moment was his to celebrate – though for a worrying period he couldn’t be found. After the buzz of match point, the German had dashed from centre court.
Former Tennis Australia president Geoff Polland recalls the confusion.
“As I remember with Becker, we were getting ready for the presentation, and he disappeared!,” Pollard said with a chuckle.
“Just when I was starting to worry a bit more, he reappeared!”
Becker explains the moment with a smile.
“I was actually on my way running back to the hotel – not to the river – because I felt like I’ve been fighting for this number one spot for so long that I just wanted to be with myself,” Becker said, recalling that a “physically strong” security guard caught up with him.
“He must have been quicker than I was. He followed me, and he explained to me that the whole world is waiting, and I have to take the trophy and I have to say a couple of words.”
The 1996 win over Chang was the cherry on top of more than a decade of elite tennis.
“Well it’s been five years since I spoke last time to you,” Becker said in his on-court acceptance speech.
“To tell you the truth I didn’t think I had a grand slam left in me.”
Becker’s relationships and the rocky road
Having reached a financial rock bottom but granted the chance to “start again” with his deportation from the UK, Becker and Lilian, who stuck with him during the tumult of his life, choose to live in Italy.
Asked last year to explain how an individual who had generated the wealth he had through tennis could end up in his predicament, Becker tried to provide some context – that he played at a time when prize money hadn’t yet soared through the roof.
“[But] of course I was wealthy,” Becker adds.
“First of all, I didn’t earn tens of millions,” Becker said on the High Performance podcast.
“Another wrong story.
“If you were playing now I would earn that type of money, but in the 80s and 90s, you didn’t earn that type of money.
“What was the prize money for a Wimbledon champion in 1985? £300,000 before taxes – which in 1985 was a shitload of money, right? Today the winner makes £3 million, so multiply everything that we earnt – it’s 10-fold.
“The prizemoney I’ve won – it’s $US25 million – that’s before taxes and before costs. In my pocket was probably half, which is still a lot of money, but it’s not ‘tens of millions’.
“[But yes] I was wealthy. Of course, I was wealthy.”
Becker met Lilian in 2018, and says the fact he “found relatively late in life such a woman … I’m blessed, I’m lucky. I didn’t expect that”.
“God blessed me with a very special person,” Becker said on the podcast.
“[In] 2018 I was in trouble. I was insolvent. I was not in a good state at all. So I meet her and I thought she was very interesting.
“I ended up going back to Frankfurt every couple of weeks to meet her. But she didn’t want to meet me alone. She said ‘I didn’t know you [at] first, but I Googled you and you sound like trouble. So I stay away from you’. I said ‘probably good advice’.
“I’m persistent when I want something. It took me 10 months just to get her number.
“Look, clearly without her, I wouldn’t be the man I am today.”
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Barely two months after Lilian gave birth to their daughter, Zoë Vittoria, Becker – who will cover the Australian Open for Eurosport Germany – feels he’s again bouncing back from adversity.
“Obviously, it’s a wonderful, wonderful, time in my life,” he says.
But, if given the chance, would he have done things differently?
“Look I always, I always wanted to have a very intense life,” he tells this masthead.
“I always wanted to be the best in tennis … as a player, as a coach, as an expert. And I was happy I could have many different roles within the tennis world, and I feel like I know what I’m talking about.
“Other than that, I’m a curious customer, right. I like to explore life.
“I like to understand different cultures, and I think I’m a little bit wiser for it by now.
“But in order to get there I had to do, many, many, many turns – some were in the right streets and some were in the wrong streets.”
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