Will Boris Becker go to jail or will there be...
Becker registered this verdict with
a bright red face, but without any emotion as usual.
He looked ahead, and I have the feeling...
He will never be able to earn real money and work...
Three-time Wimbledon winner Boris Becker has to answer to court in London today.
Boom Boom!
What does the manager Ion Tiriac earn from Boris Becker?
- Not enough. No. - Not enough?
Boris is a young man who has a great deal of determination
and I think that he was perhaps the hardest worker in sports I'd ever seen.
Rainer Martinell against Boris Becker, for first place.
- Game, set, match-- - Yeah!
Think about it. Borg was here seven years ago.
I wish you'll have the same kind of success.
Good luck!
Boris, come on.
- How old are you all? - Eleven.
Who is your favorite now in these major tournaments?
Borg!
- You like Borg the best? - Yeah.
What would you say if he came by here now?
I'd like to play a match with you.
We are proud of Boris Becker. He has made Leimen huge.
Leimen is becoming famous!
And we are happy as kings.
In the period of two years,
Becker spent 72 days in Monaco,
but spent 139 days in the top floor apartment in Munich.
...that he maintained a residence in Germany,
and for this reason,
precisely in order to reduce taxes unlawfully,
he concealed this fact in his tax returns.
As I said, the defendant himself admitted that he had acted intentionally.
Boris Becker issued a prepared statement
saying among other things,
"This was my most important victory, and I am free."
For many Germans, does an underage professional tennis player
embody what may have been lost in reality?
A fighting spirit, will to perform, unlimited self-confidence?
In a way, yes. We are a battered people,
and we are happy, rightly so,
about anyone who succeeds in achieving international success.
Boris Becker saw one of his dearest wishes fulfilled.
He met the Pope at the Vatican.
The two-time Wimbledon champion
even brought a tennis racket for John Paul II.
The Pope plays tennis. He is a great sportsman.
He also practices swimming.
And it was John Paul II who had already invited Boris Becker
a few months ago to come and visit him.
Recall that he has won three tournaments on three continents,
on three different surfaces, alone!
Thanks for being with us, Boris Becker.
Your opinion on a few players?
McEnroe is going to come back?
In the three tournaments that just ended, he was there.
Well, of course, it's going to be a long road for him,
but I think he has the possibility of actually returning.
Sprechen Sie English?
A little bit of quiet please, thank you.
Sometimes to put pressure on, he coughs.
0-15.
There it is, "The Cough."
I can't believe that it still isn't better.
Only 4 years.
It's difficult to think that he's not doing this on purpose.
He raises his fist.
He raises his arm in victory, Boris Becker!
He raises his finger!
He has won, he was the better one...
So Lendl number 1,
Becker number 2.
Will it be "Becker number 1" next year?
Ooh la la, huh?
Difficult. Ooh la la.
First of all, you cannot even see where my coach is.
I know where your coach is, Mr. Becker.
But I know you want me out of the tournament.
- No. - I'm not gonna get out.
What's going on with Günther Bosch
ten days after the separation from Boris Becker?
Not much better than ten days ago.
I have to honestly admit that I haven't worked through this whole thing yet
and I believe it'll take some time until I'm over all of this.
It looks like Boris will have a lot of trouble today...
It's his own fault.
Yeah, this curse was for the airplane...
The airplane just thundered by over our heads.
Becker was forced to take a break.
It took too long.
He has to serve there.
He has to serve, otherwise he gets out of rhythm.
This break is far too long.
It should be said, that the circumstances at Hamburg's Rothenbaum were not normal.
In the overflowing arena,
many people couldn't find a spot even though they had valid tickets.
The growing restlessness was felt on center court,
where Boris Becker was outdone, at times, by every trick in the book.
If you try to blame the court or the audience...
you just have to admit that he didn't play well.
And he doesn't want to recognize that.
I haven't played a tournament in Germany since Wimbledon '85.
I didn't know I had so many fans!
I just wanted to be treated like all the other players.
In Germany, that's not possible for me
because for other people, I am probably something special.
It's not enough for me to play tennis for three hours a day
and then go to bed.
For me, that would be horrible.
Therefore, I have to do other things that stimulate my mind,
inspire me.
Mr. Bosch, you've known Boris for a decade, maybe even longer.
A bit longer, yes.
In retrospect, what do you think are his biggest strengths and weaknesses?
I wrote about this in my book.
During the tournaments, it's not Becker against Edberg or Becker against Lendl.
Often it's Becker against Becker.
And if he's able to tackle this Becker,
this internal opponent, he will win the game.
I play against Edberg and I know exactly where I stand.
If I win against him 6-4, 6-4, I know I'm in top shape
or when he kicks my butt I know I have to train a lot more.
My opponent in the back of my mind is always Edberg.
There are people who think that sometimes
you like to create certain situations in games.
For example, maybe you bring it to a fifth set or bring it to a tiebreak.
Are you trying to artificially create adrenaline rushes in those situations?
Well, sometimes not so directly,
but deep down I know that I can beat the opponent.
It doesn't matter if my legs hurt.
In doing so, I also test my psyche. I see how strong I am.
So if I know that I can beat my opponent 6-2, 6-2,
then I get a bit lazy sometimes, I have to admit.
And then when it gets close, I have to come on strong.
That's good and bad.
I lose strength, physical strength. I win...
Yeah, but I win mental strength.
What?
What did you say?
Sometimes yeah, I only do what is necessary in the moment.
Secretly, I know, even if I lose in the first set
and the second and the third-- I'll get him.
That's how I'm testing my psyche.
How can you explain
the fact that someone like you lost against such a guy?
My mind wasn't fully present.
That's really what it was. I still had trouble with my...
...with my mind such that...
I could not focus for four points in a row
on the court.
Rather, I thought after two already that I would win the game.
Do you consider yourself to be a genius? In tennis?
Sometimes I do.
Sometimes I wonder how I get out of
the problem once again.
If I'm down two sets,
I don't know where I can get the strength from
to keep my head and stay cool and then still make the point.
That's often a mystery to me too.
And then I come to the conclusion that somehow I can
do it a bit better than the others.
But not often enough.
Where I get the strength
to keep my head and stay cool and then still make the point,
that's often a mystery to me too.
And then I come to the conclusion that somehow I can
do it a bit better than the others.
And then I realize, "Oh, shit."
It could be over soon. I also thought, "This here could be my last stroke as--
Or rather, my first stroke as number one."
What will happen if I make it? There is nothing left anymore.
And suddenly, I could fly!
I couldn't stand still. I had to move, I had to get out.
I didn't want to compose myself, because I've done that the entire time.
I ran outside and just kept running.
I was a little terrified of that moment.
Then in that moment,
it was as if a tremendous weight was suddenly lifted off of my shoulders.
It was a little bit like Wimbledon '85.
It will never again be how it was. That's what I felt in that moment.
Everything was free.