Boris Becker


Boris Franz Becker (b. November 22, 1967 in Leimen, Germany) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. He is a six-time Grand Slam champion, an Olympic Gold Medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon. Since retiring from the professional tour, colorful aspects of his personal life have kept him in the headlines.

Tennis career
Becker is the only son of an architect who built the tennis center where Becker and another German tennis great, Steffi Graf, played against each other as children.

Becker turned professional in 1984, and won his first professional doubles title that year in Munich.

As a redheaded teenager in 1985, Becker took the tennis world by storm. He won his first top-level singles title in June that year at Queen's Club and then, two weeks later, become the first unseeded player and the youngest ever male player to win the Wimbledon singles title, defeating Kevin Curren in the final in four sets. At the time he was Wimbledon's first German champion, and the youngest ever male Grand Slam singles champion at 17 years, 7 months (a record broken four years later by Michael Chang who won the French Open when he was 17 years, 3 months). Becker's game was based on an all-action style and a huge serve that earned him the nickname "Boom Boom". His desire to throw himself at anything and everything with acrobatic diving volleys during his matches particularly endeared him to the crowds. His heavy forehand and powerful return of serve were also very significant factors in his game.

In 1986, Becker successfully defended his Wimbledon title, defeating Ivan Lendl (who was ranked the World No. 1 at the time) in straight sets in the final. Becker unexpectedly lost in the second round of Wimbledon in 1987. But he was back in the final again in 1988 where he lost in four sets to Stefan Edberg in a match that marked the start of one of Wimbledon's great rivalries. Becker also helped West Germany win its first Davis Cup in 1988.

1989 was possibly the pinnacle of Becker's career. He defeated Edberg in straight sets in the Wimbledon final, and then went on to beat Lendl in the final of the US Open. He also helped West Germany retain the Davis Cup. However the World No. 1 ranking still eluded him.

In 1990, Becker met Edberg for the third consecutive year in the Wimbledon final, losing in an epic five-set encounter.

Becker reached the final of the Australian Open for the first time in his career in 1991, where he defeated Lendl to finally claim the World No. 1 ranking. He would be ranked No. 1 for several weeks during 1991, though he never managed to finish a year ranked as the World's No. 1 player. Becker reached his fourth consecutive Wimbledon final in 1991, where he unexpectedly lost in straight sets to his German compatriot Michael Stich.

Becker and Stich teamed up in 1992 to win the men's doubles Gold Medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona.

Becker reached the Wimbledon final for the seventh time in 1995, where he lost in four sets to Pete Sampras. His sixth and final Grand Slam title came in 1996, when he defeated Michael Chang in the final of the Australian Open.

Becker was most comfortable playing on fast-playing surfaces, particularly grass courts. He reached a few finals playing on clay courts, but never won clay court tournament in his professional career. His best performances at the French Open came in reaching the semi-finals in 1987, 1989 and 1991.

Over the course of his career, Becker won 49 singles titles and 15 doubles titles. Besides his six Grand Slam titles, he was also a singles winner in the year-end Masters championship in 1988, 1992 and 1995, and at the Grand Slam Cup in 1996. He won a record-equalling four singles titles at London's Queen's Club. In the Davis Cup, his career win-loss record was 54-12, including an incredible 38-3 in singles mactches. He also won the other two major international team titles playing for Germany – the Hopman Cup (in 1995) and the World Team Cup (in 1989 and '98). Becker's career prize earnings totalled $25,080,956. In 2003, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, USA.

Becker now plays on the Senior ATP Tour. He remains a hugely popular figure at Wimbledon and commentates there for the BBC each year.