Latest news with #BorisBecker
Qatar Tribune
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Qatar Tribune
Suddenly this freedom was gone: Becker recalls his first Wimbledon title
DPA London Boris Becker has said that his maiden Wimbledon title in 1985 as a 17-year-old not only resulted in positives, and that his inner strength helped him throughout his tennis career and life. Becker became a German and global sensation with his triumph 40 years ago. He went on to win two more Wimbledons and a total six Grand Slams, and was world number one. Looking back ahead of Monday's start of the latest Wimbledon, he told Stern magazine that 'the whole country embraced me' after the 1985 success. 'It was certainly meant kindly, but they almost crushed me and took away my air to breathe. I was always a freedom-loving person, and suddenly this freedom was gone,' Becker said. 'People suddenly looked at me with different eyes, even my parents. Boy, what were you doing there? That was their attitude. My parents had known me for 17 and a half years up until then, but they didn't realise that I had this strength in me.' Becker said this strength helped him throughout life on and off the court. 'I survived as a prodigy. I survived the 17-year-old Boris Becker and everything that came after that,' he said. I have this character trait: I survive. You can put me in the jungles of Vietnam - I'll find a way to survive. You can put me in prison - and I'll find a way to survive.' This also helped him get through a prison term in Britain after being convicted for for withholding assets in a bankruptcy case. 'As they say: in a serious crisis, you're all alone. Yes, that's how it was with me,' he said. However, he highlighted that his current wife, Lilian De Carvalho Monteiro, with whom he now lives in Milan, remained by his side. 'That is remarkable, because she could only be interested in me as a person because I had nothing else to offer. I had never met a woman like her before,' he said.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Boris Becker: I was hounded like Princess Diana
Boris Becker has compared his struggles with press scrutiny to those of Diana, Princess of Wales, saying that 'I could put myself in her shoes'. Becker was only 17 when he scored the first of his three Wimbledon titles in 1985, going on to become one of the most prominent voices in the sport in his role as a leading tennis pundit. But that standing came crashing down when he was jailed in 2022 for hiding £2.5 million in assets that he could have used to pay off debts after being found bankrupt. Four decades on, Becker was asked to identify moments in sport or history that he would never forget and opted for Germany's 1974 victory in the football World Cup, and the Princess's death in a car crash in 1997. Asked about that second selection, in an interview with German magazine Stern, Becker replied: 'I knew that she was constantly on the run from the paparazzi and that nothing was taboo to these people... I could put myself in her shoes to some extent. Life as a public figure who is pursued at every turn: that is part of my story, too.' As a tennis fan, the Princess regularly attended Wimbledon. One of Becker's near-contemporaries – the big-serving Slobodan Zivojinovic – has claimed to have had a relationship with her in the late 1980s. Returning to the theme of his public profile, Becker said: 'Life in the fast lane is dangerous. Wunderkinds don't live to an especially old age because their lives move at such great speed. 'You can't come down from that high. I can't say: I don't want to be a wunderkind anymore, I don't want this whole circus. That freedom of choice doesn't exist for someone like me.' Elsewhere in the same interview, Becker suggested that his fame had been double-edged from the beginning. 'The whole country embraced me,' he said. 'It was certainly well-intentioned, but they almost smothered me and took away my breath. 'I was always a freedom-loving person, and suddenly that freedom was gone. People suddenly looked at me with different eyes, even my parents. 'Boy, what were you doing?' That was their attitude. My parents had known me for 17½ years, but they didn't know I had this strength within me.' Despite his six major titles and numerous other accolades, Becker was declared bankrupt in 2017 and later jailed in 2022. Released after serving eight months in Wandsworth and Huntercombe Prisons, he has since moved to Milan with his third wife, Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, and recently worked as part of TNT's punditry team for the French Open. 'I survived as a wunderkind,' he added. 'I survived 17-year-old Boris Becker and everything that came after. I have this character trait: I survive. You can drop me off in the jungles of Vietnam – I'll find a way to survive. You can put me in prison – and I'll find a way to survive.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Becker on first Wimbledon title: 'Suddenly this freedom was gone'
Former German tennis player Boris Becker attends the Men's singles final tennis match of the Terra Wortmann Open between Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik and Russian Daniil Medvedev. David Inderlied/dpa Boris Becker has said that his maiden Wimbledon title in 1985 as a 17-year-old not only resulted in positives, and that his inner strength helped him throughout his tennis career and life. Becker became a German and global sensation with his triumph 40 years ago. He went on to win two more Wimbledons and a total six grand slams, and was world number one. Advertisement Looking back ahead of Monday's start of the latest Wimbledon, he told Stern magazine that "the whole country embraced me" after the 1985 success. "It was certainly meant kindly, but they almost crushed me and took away my air to breathe. I was always a freedom-loving person, and suddenly this freedom was gone," Becker said. "People suddenly looked at me with different eyes, even my parents. Boy, what were you doing there? That was their attitude. My parents had known me for 17 and a half years up until then, but they didn't realise that I had this strength in me." Becker said this strength helped him throughout life on and off the court. Advertisement "I survived as a prodigy. I survived the 17-year-old Boris Becker and everything that came after that," he said. I have this character trait: I survive. You can put me in the jungles of Vietnam - I'll find a way to survive. You can put me in prison - and I'll find a way to survive." This also helped him get through a prison term in Britain after being convicted for for withholding assets in a bankruptcy case. "As they say: in a serious crisis, you're all alone. Yes, that's how it was with me," he said. However, he highlighted that his current wife, Lilian De Carvalho Monteiro, with whom he now lives in Milan, remained by his side. 'That is remarkable, because she could only be interested in me as a person because I had nothing else to offer. I had never met a woman like her before," he said.
Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Boris Becker: I was hounded by the press just like Princess Diana
The former tennis star Boris Becker has compared himself to Princess Diana and said that the British judge who sentenced him to prison for bankruptcy offences had condemned his 'entire family' to suffer. Becker, 57, was once one of postwar Germany's most celebrated and successful sporting celebrities, winning Wimbledon at the age of 17 and rising to world No 1. In 2022, however, he was jailed by Southwark crown court for concealing several valuable assets and loans from his creditors after declaring himself bankrupt. Since his early release eight months after the verdict, Becker has moved to Milan and re-established himself as a tennis commentator and brand ambassador for various lines of sports clothing. In an interview alongside his third wife, Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, Becker said he had now turned his private life into a 'little fortress' after finding himself 'suffocated' by the obsessive interest of the German public and betrayed by figures he had previously mistaken for friends. • Boris Becker backtracks after airing Hitler survival theory Asked which world events in his lifetime had been most indelibly seared into his memory, he cited the death of Princess Diana in 1997. 'I knew Diana; we ran into each other a few times,' Becker told Stern, a German magazine. 'I knew that she was constantly on the run from the paparazzi and that nothing was taboo to these people … I could put myself in her shoes to some extent. Life as a public figure who is pursued at every turn: that is part of my story, too.' Like Diana, Becker said, he had been haunted by his early status as a wunderkind, a young prodigy. 'Life in the fast lane is dangerous,' he said. 'Wunderkinds don't live to an especially old age because their lives move at such great speed. 'You can't come down from that high. I can't say: I don't want to be a wunderkind any more, I don't want this whole circus. That freedom of choice doesn't exist for someone like me.' Addressing his spell in Wandsworth and Huntercombe prisons, Becker acknowledged that he had made 'mistakes, even double faults' in his life: 'I don't want to pin the blame on anyone else. They were my mistakes, and I atoned for them.' He admitted that he had struggled psychologically with his imprisonment. 'What the judge didn't realise, and no one else on the outside [did either]: when you condemn someone, you condemn their entire family,' Becker said. 'In my case that was my children, my sister, my mother, and of course my wife. 'In that situation you ask yourself very quickly: how are you even going to cope with it yourself?'
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Boris Becker's ex-wife Lilly stuns in a bikini and quirky leather belt as she enjoys luxurious holiday to Turkey
Boris Becker 's ex-wife Lilly looked stunning as she gave an insight into her luxurious holiday to Turkey on Monday. The model, 48, wore a metallic bikini which she paired with a chunky leather belt for a quirky look. She layered over a cream shawl and accessorised her outfit with a straw hat and sunglasses. Sharing a series of photos to Instagram, Lilly enjoyed a lavish dinner with friends before going for a stroll on the beach. She captioned the update: 'Feeling grateful, blessed, and surrounded by beauty — in the most stunning surroundings. With incredible women and unforgettable vibes.' Lilly won the German version of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in February after stealing the hearts of the nation. Boris endured a bitter divorce battle with Dutch model Lilly, who confirmed she had signed up for the show in January. The couple were married for nine years and welcomed son Amadeus together, before confirming their split in May 2018. Boris had been declared bankrupt the year before, owing creditors £50million, over an unpaid loan of more than £3million on his estate on the Spanish island of Mallorca. The six-time grand slam champion was jailed in April 2022 for hiding £2.5million of assets and loans to avoid paying his debts. Lilly will now enjoy her €100,000 prize money after beating fellow finalists Alessia Herren, 23, and Pierre Sanoussi-Bliss, 62. Winning the Queen of the Jungle title, the model broke down crying and said: 'Amadeus, we did it! I won!' Lilly and Boris' son celebrated his 15th birthday on the day of his mother's victory. The former tennis star served eight months of a two-and-a-half-year sentence before being extradited to Germany in time for Christmas 2022. Boris went on to tie the knot with Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, 33, in Italy last year - marking his third time up the aisle. He had previously been married to first wife, Barbara Feltus, from 1993 until 2001, after Boris admitted to having an affair while she was pregnant with their second child. His two sons with Barbara, Noah, 30, and Elias, 25, were in attendance at his wedding to Liliam, however conspicuous by their absence were Amadeus and his daughter Anna Ermakova, 24. Model Anna was born after Boris had a one-night stand with Russian waitress Angela in the broom cupboard of London's Nobu while first wife Barbara was in labour with Elias. Lilly later said Boris had purposely not invited Amadeus to his wedding, telling German magazine Bunte: 'When I asked Amadeus about it, he was surprised. He didn't know anything about it. 'Of course he's wondering why he wasn't invited and that his father didn't tell him anything about it.' While she insisted that she wished her ex the best, she added that 'behaving that way towards our son really is the last straw. Who doesn't want him to come?'
