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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 Medallist, 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 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-equaling 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 matches. 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.
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