[reporter 1] Boris Becker has been found guilty of four charges
under the Insolvency Act...
[reporter 2] Former three-times Wimbledon champion
will now spend two and a half years...
[reporter 3] He has gone straight to jail. Yeah. An incredible story.
[Tiriac] Boris Becker in prison.
I don't know if I may say in English, shit happens all over.
It happened to him again.
But I bet anything you like
he's going to come out with a lesson learned
and he's going to be the same German that he was before.
[interviewer] Wandsworth Prison is a hard place to do time.
Drugs and violence among hardened criminals are commonplace.
While Boris only stayed a few weeks
before he was transferred to a prison for foreign nationals,
he grappled with a hard irony during his stay at Wandsworth.
It sits less than three miles from the site of the champion's greatest glories.
- [tennis volley echoes] - [crowd applauds]
[commentator 1] That's it. He's done it.
[commentator 2] A championship to Becker.
["Boom Boom" playing]
[crowd cheering]
[commentator 3] Match point for Becker!
[crowd gasps, cheers]
[commentator 4] I don't believe it.
[crowd groans, applauds]
[shouts in German]
[scattered applause]
[no audible dialogue]
["Boom Boom" continues playing]
[crowd cheering]
[camera shutters clicking]
[crowd cheering]
[shouts]
[Becker] '91, I've just had the best three years of my life behind me.
But I was so not in peace.
Um, I get in my rented house in Wimbledon and I'm-- I'm becoming sad.
[stammers] I'm contemplating for the first time...
[clicks tongue] ...to retire from tennis.
All sorts of thoughts creeping through my mind
are saying, you know, "We're 25."
My hero was Björn Borg. That was reflective of Borg's career...
[grunts]
[crowd gasps, cheers]
[announcer] Game, set, and championship, McEnroe.
[interviewer] Boris was haunted by the way Borg had left tennis
at the age of 25.
After losing to John McEnroe in the finals of the US Open,
Borg packed up his rackets, walked off the court, out of the stadium
and straight into retirement, leaving his rivals in shock.
[announcer] The runner-up, Björn Borg, is truly a great champion.
We are sorry he is unable to be here to receive the runner-up award, wit--
[crowd booing]
[McEnroe] I want to, uh, join in the commiseration for Björn
'cause I think he is a great champion, and, uh...
[crowd applauds]
[interviewer] He said after that one he was mentally tired.
I guess he was, you know, as it turned out.
You know, it was too bad.
I cannot pour, uh, put all the effort into the game anymore.
I did it for so many years and, uh,
it's difficult for me to go out and practice now, like, four hours every day.
So, I will continue to play tennis for fun,
but I'm never gonna, uh, come back
and, uh, you know, try, say, to be the number one player again.
[Borg] I was still doing well, um,
but I had a issue.
I had a problem with my-- with my mind.
"Is it fun?" Uh, no, it's not fun. Tennis is not fun anymore.
[Becker, in German] This is where it all started.
That's...
the way my emotions are running high here.
Now I am thinking about what happens if I don't make it this year?
The fear of failing.
And then it depends who I'd lose against.
If I lose against Stefan, it's okay.
Against Lendl, it would be a catastrophe.
If a jerk beats you, that feels like shit.
[in English] Jesus Christ, that wasn't even close of being out!
Ah, come on!
[crowd chattering]
[court announcer] Love-15.
[Stich] He was watching the whole time to him.
- [speaks indistinctly] - He was walking-- You were watching him.
- [referee chatters, indistinct] - Oh, shut up.
[Stich] Coming into Wimbledon I think I was number 7 in the world.
I think I was seeded sixth.
So I knew I-- You know, I was good on grass.
I enjoyed the surface.
I-I enjoyed playing that style, uh, on-on grass.
[commentator 1] So the champion,
facing now four match points.
[grunts]
- [commentator 2] Game, set, match. - [exclaims]
[interviewer] In 1991, the opponent for Boris
in the Wimbledon final was Michael Stich.
Unlike Borg, Boris wanted to retire after a victory,
and what better than a win over a rising star from Germany.
The English newspapers, obviously they really picked on that,
the first all-German finals at Wimbledon.
On the one hand,
the champion that was basically saying it's his living area.
And then the young German kid all of a sudden being in the finals.
As Boris was the first one winning the Wimbledon, was 17,
he was the big hero.
I'm back to number one, I'm about to win my-my fourth Wimbledon.
Saturday night, I'm supposed to concentrate, I started crying.
I said, "I know myself."
I said, "If I beat Michael Stich, I will retire."
I've proven a point. I'm one of the best players of all time.
End of story. It's good.
If I win, I will retire on the spot.
[crowd cheers, applauds]
[interviewer] Did you have a strategy going into that finals match
for-- for how you were going to play Boris?
Winning. [laughs]
I'm playing to win.
And I'm not playing not to lose.
[grunts]
[crowd cheers, applauds]
[announcer] Game, first set, Stich, six games to four.
[Becker] I was the clear favorite and I, you know, was probably the better player,
but I was, instinctively, I was scared of that moment.
And it was my instincts just being so uncomfortable
in the situation.
[announcer] Game, second set, Stich, seven games to six.
- [Stich] After I won the second set... - [shouts]
...in that breaker, he was realizing that it's a long way now
to come back and win that final.
And he started, uh, moaning and-- and, uh, let's use the word whining a little bit.
And obviously that lifts your spirits as well.
- [line umpire] Out! - [crowd gasps, chattering]
[Becker mutters in German]
[speaking German]
[Becker, in English] I've never behaved so embarrassingly
as I did in that Wimbledon final,
in front of 800 million people or a billion people.
[crowd cheers]
Fuck!
[Becker] I was the number one player in the world.
And I was just-just-just a terrible example of a sportsman.
[muttering in German]
[Stich, in English] We got to match point. Boris was serving.
And I was very sure at that time
that he was going to serve to my weakness, to my forehand.
[commentator] Oh, and he's done it.
[Becker] Michael was happy. [chuckles]
And I went to the locker room and I was happy
'cause I didn't stop.
I said... [exhales]
..."Motherfucker, I almost-- [chuckles] I almost stopped, I almost stopped!"
You know, Michael went on and, you know, celebrated
and in Germany we had a second Wimbledon champion,
but I was-- I was good.
But what I needed, um, was...
I-I need to find a woman.
I need to f-- I need to-- I mean, I love tennis,
but when I come home there's-- there's something missing.
I want to-- I want to start a family.
I'm having dinner with some friends and then Barbara walks in the restaurant.
And I look at her and I go, "Hmm."
I tell her, "Listen, it may sound cocky,
but I don't think we have to talk much anymore.
I think you're gonna be my wife."
Swear to God.
He said it that night, yeah, but he didn't say it to me,
- he said to a friend of mine. - [interviewer] Ah.
Uh, he-- But he said the historic sentences
that I have not heard after or before where he said... [speaking German]
...which means, "Are we going to your place or are we going to my place?"
And I'm like, "I just met you. I can't go with you anywhere." [chuckles]
We were walking into this bar and everybody was staring at us.
A lot of talk and pointing,
and I understood why he would say, "Are we going to your place
or are we going to my place?"
It was not so much of a seduction
but more of, like, a protecting me, you know.
I was not really planning much, you know. I was falling in love.
That was it. I didn't think... [chuckles] ...you know,
what would that mean in the future or what is future at that point?
You know, you just live in the moment and you think that's your life.
[interviewer] Boris in Germany at that time must have been hugely famous.
[Barbara] He parted the water, yes.
He had that... that glow,
that atmospheric energy of changing the room
and making it lighter and brighter.
He was very good at it, you know, understanding the press.
He was very suspicious, he was very protective.
But, you know, for the hero,
the blond, blue-eyed German,
to pick a-a Black woman as his-- his wife was a big deal.
You know, I fell in love with a-- with a Black woman in Munich, period.
I'm color-blind. I didn't see that she was darker than me.
I just fell in love with the woman.
And some of the things that I heard, uh, about my wife
or some of the things that she heard, you just can't believe it.
[Barbara] In the German press at the beginning, people got caught off-guard.
It was very much a Black and white thing. Go back to where you came from.
You know, racism, you cannot change it.
And I knew racism before.
It's like a smell in the room, you know, you smell it.
That you are, um, part of it, but not--
You can't sit at the table, you know.
You can be an arm length, you know. That's how it is, you know.
Everybody has one Black friend.
But will your daughter marry this friend, you know?
This is a different, you know, personal space.
[reporter, in German] Boris Becker is coming to Hamburg's Rothenbaum
for morning training, always with his bodyguards.
Since the tennis star and his family were threatened,
security forces have been on alert.
[in German] Unfortunately, ten years ago it was more comfortable,
but it has now become normal for all of us
and we are living with the problem.
[Becker, in English] I look very German,
but my taste of-of life is not German at all.
We talked about racism in the mid-90s in Germany.
Shame on you.
We put the fingers on them.
We've had a couple of interviews and we did one cover
where we were both nude.
Within a few weeks we became the golden couple
of how a truly interracial relationship works wonders in Germany.
So, maybe it was a lie,
but at least everybody started to respect us a little bit.
[Barbara] The shift of the German press,
I think it happened by him just standing in front of me
and just by us being indivisible.
And it became a normality.
And they adjusted pretty fast, I think,
to the idea that this is it, she's not leaving. [chuckles]
And then they embraced me.
[in German] Boris Becker and Barbara Feltus did indeed
say yes to each other today.
Reporters and onlookers had to endure the whole afternoon,
then the couple of the year finally came along.
[reporter, in English] Hundreds of folks crowded outside town hall today
just get a glimpse of the couple. They are expecting a child next month.
[Barbara] The marriage was a big deal.
I was pregnant.
There was a lot of media attention
and there was one photographer dressed like a server.
Paparazzi were trying to bribe friends.
[in German] Whether it's Boom Boom Baby or Babs or something else,
the name of the child of Boris Becker and Barbara Feltus,
that's something they both don't want to reveal yet.
[Barbara, in English] We had people sleeping in front of the house.
I brought out coffee for the paparazzi in the morning.
I was like, "What are you doing right in front of--
I'm not gonna have the baby on the street."
We had a private hospital.
People were looking like nurses and were trying to come into the room.
- [paparazzo, in German] For Ms. Feltus. - I'm afraid I'm not allowed to.
- [paparazzo] Can't you? - No.
[paparazzo] Then could you show where you're going?
No. Please take a good look and leave.
I'm sorry.
[paparazzi chattering]
I just wanted to inform you that
our son was born, and wife and child are well.
It was a very short birth and the child weighs seven pounds.
[in English] Yeah, it was a big topic too, to see the first--
How would he look, you know?
How was...
And then he came out so perfect. It was brilliant.
[in German] With us, the photographer and grandfather, Ross Feltus.
Yeah, it's a hell of a thing
to be a grandfather.
This morning I was happy that we were allowed to come here.
[host] We are all happy and the audience too, of course.
And of course we also want to take a look at a few pictures that you took.
[Barbara, in English] He wanted to stop when he met me,
and I don't want to say I persuaded him to play it again
but he said he would do it if I would come with him.
And then we played a couple more years. We--
[stammers] Especially me. [laughs]
[interviewer] But, I mean, you were-- you were on the...
- On the team. - ...on the tour, you were on the team.
On the tour for sure, but also on the team, yeah.
I was really helping the push,
but I had so much admiration for the actual deed.
You know, the going out and doing and winning.
[crowd cheering]
[Barbara] We watched him doing, like, miracles.
[crowd cheering]
[announcer speaking German]
[Barbara, in English] It fell into what I loved to do, you know,
work in a team,
and see it succeed, you know, see it flourish.
Tiriac was there at the beginning.
I loved when he was there.
He was a good protector, a good shield, and I liked it.
But, um, you know, he wasn't managing me, so it was not my choice to change.
When that shift happened,
it was like a little bit of an insecurity for all of us.
[Tiriac] We split because we had our differences.
I'm the-the only one that I was against him.
"Ion, everybody say to help me, you say something different. You are against me."
I said, "No. You don't understand. I don't need you.
And probably you don't need me.
All the others are petting you.
'Boris, you're big.' 'Boris, you're great.'
'Boris, you're this. Boris, you're that.'
And on top of it you have money as well.
So be careful. I don't need you."
And that's-- We shake our hand, we drink a beer that night when we split.
And the new people that he had were completely different than I was.
The player is only as good as the people around him.
[Becker] The right people, they can bring you to heaven.
The wrong people bring you to hell.
[camera shutters clicking]
[in German] The public prosecutor's office is satisfied that the defendant confessed.
[reporters chattering in German]
[interviewer, in English] After he parted with Tiriac,
Boris was buffeted by a series of lawsuits and criminal investigations.
After pleading guilty to tax evasion in Germany,
Boris decided to put his trust in the hands of a new business partner,
Hans-Dieter Cleven.
A devoted fan, Cleven had helped Boris pay his tax settlement
with the German government.
And he persuaded Boris to move to business-friendly Switzerland,
where Cleven set up a series of joint ventures
to market Boris as a brand.
Following Boris' retirement,
Cleven became a trusted confidant
who advanced Becker money against their future profits
so that Boris could take some swings at investing.
A website, Sportgate, wound up in court and went bankrupt after just a year.
He hawked organic food and athletic bandages.
Boris Becker Marketing failed to attract clients and fizzled.
With tax credits, he made money on Mercedes dealerships
from East Germany.
Boris seemed to do best when he stayed close to sports.
Together Cleven and Boris owned equal shares in Völkl Tennis.
But when he signed on to front for an online poker company,
it wasn't a good look.
Boris was gambling his tennis winnings on a series of bad hands.
After my career, of course I want to have a good living
but earning money, as 99% people are doing every single day,
was not my motivation.
It starts from the beginning.
By 17 years old I won my first million, so money goes out of the window.
You lose the sense of value. You don't know what a million is.
You don't know that 99% of people would never earn a million.
The driving motor for my professional career was never money,
it was winning titles.
It was becoming the best player in the world, becoming number one.
That's why I wanted to play.
[phone ringing]
[McEnroe] I think it was '93.
Boris called me and said, "Listen, could you coach me
for Wimbledon and the US Open?"
I'm like, "Okay."
When I paid for my ticket to Montreal, I mean--
- I've lost money coaching him. - [interviewer laughing]
I'm still waiting for my-- the receipt for my, you know, plane ticket.
Boris had obviously not been training too hard.
He just wasn't ready to go yet.
I go, "Boris, listen, um, maybe we should go play some matches,
let's get you back in shape." "All right, let's do that."
[beeping]
[McEnroe] I'm calling now the tournament director at LA.
You know, "How much can you give me if Boris takes a wild card?"
Call Boris, saying, "Hey, listen, this is what they got."
"All right. Let's do it."
Called the guy.
"All right, he's gonna do it."
Just soon afterwards, Bor-- "I'm not gonna do it."
[Barbara speaking indistinctly]
[McEnroe] He has Barbara call me.
Barbara says, "Oh, he's gonna play Indianapolis.
He's taking a wild card there."
I go, "Indianapolis? Okay."
"He-- Look, you know, he wants you to be there" and blah, blah, blah.
I go-- I go, "Barbara, listen.
If he wants me to be there have him call me,
- okay? That's--" - [interviewer chuckling]
"That's all he has to do." Didn't call me.
You know, I had my own problems.
I was going through this terrible divorce.
I had the kids.
I had rented a place.
I go, "If you want to practice, come out to the Hamptons."
"Okay. I'm on my way."
Okay.
Two hours later, "I'm not coming."
So I was just like, "Man, good luck."
[chuckles] "You know, I wish you the best, man."
I was in my mid-20s and I was looking for a comeback
and I wanted to surround myself with the best people,
and I believed at the time that Nick was among the very best coaches in the world.
Looking good, baby. [chuckles]
[Barbara] What's your next look like? Where are you going?
[interviewer] We were going up to see Bollettieri tomorrow.
- Nick? - [interviewer] Nick.
- Oh, I love him. - Do you?
What can I give to him? Do I have anything?
Maybe I can send him a voice note.
[Barbara, on recording] But it's Boris', uh, biography,
and I'm so happy you're a part of it since you've been a part of his life,
a big part of his life, and also mine.
And I miss you. Good seeing you soon.
- Bye-bye. - Isn't that nice.
[Bollettieri] Boris was a different guy.
One of the most unusual, uh, players that I had in my career.
The big thing I remember about Boris is
he didn't like a lot of chatter about his game.
And I thought that remark that he made,
"The more you talk, the more you gotta prove."
And he said, "Most coaches, they just talk too much."
Then lob in the fact Nick Bollettieri left Agassi to coach Becker
and now we're cooking.
[Becker] When Agassi split with Bollettieri, it created big news.
And when I got in contact with Nick, it created a lot of waves,
I'm sure, amongst the Agassi camp as well.
And I went to Florida.
Was coached by Nick's best coaches,
a guy called Mike DePalmer and a guy called Red Ayme.
[whistle blowing]
All you strikers, get the lobs deeper now.
Sidney, close into the net. Close the net.
Freddy, get in there and finish the points.
Come on!
You got into the net and you let a ball go.
Better, Sidney! That's better.
I think when you're a champion like Boris,
winning, you win and it becomes a habit.
Losing sometimes also can be a habit.
Boris rededicated himself.
The mental toughness that he showed,
it's really unheard of for a person later in his career.
Getting himself in unbelievable condition.
He lost 12 kilos, 20 pounds or so.
And when he returned to the circuit, he was very light and fit.
Oh, yeah. He had been a little fatty here and there, baby.
There's no question about it.
And, uh, we got rid of that.
I don't think I really made a big impact on his game.
But I think Boris, he lost a little bit of who he was and felt.
And I believe that whatever success I've had
is to make a person feel they're a winner.
Baby, when you're with me,
I'm gonna help you be the best you can be.
[Becker] What Nick Bollettieri stood for was good for me.
It was simplifying it, and it was about winning.
And so that was a very, very good period where I was hungry,
I started to feel something again.
There's something left in me that I wanted to show.
[Barbara] This was very new to me,
that you could actually manifest something through work.
This was fascinating to watch, how he could, um,
take an idea... [stammers] ...and materialize it.
[crowd chattering]
[crowd whistles, cheers]
[Barbara] People said, "Oh, you lived here or there."
We didn't really live anywhere, you know.
We lived on the airplanes and in the hotels, you know.
I mean, I have a garden now, you know, like, with herbs and bananas.
We never got to make a garden.
I see it as running.
Like, running through the days, through the years almost.
Very rushed.
Feeling...
Feeling rushed.
It was emotional, you know.
A lot of ups and a lot of-- whoo-- downs.
It was like a ride, a big, big fast ride. That's how I feel.
- A fast ride. [chuckles] - [interviewer] Right.
But a good ride, like an, um, an adventure, you know?
Like a big adventure, and, um,
I would not want to miss one day.
[commentator] The stakes couldn't be higher for Becker.
Facing the world number one Pete Sampras.
[crowd gasps]
[crowd cheers]
[crowd cheering, applauding]
[Sampras] You know, whenever I play Boris in Germany
it's very, very difficult to beat him.
And, uh, he's got 9,000 fans screaming for him.
Makes it, uh, very difficult.
[Barbara] We'd get invited everywhere
and, you know, you have to show up to collect the points and the money,
and it's a-- it's a job.
[Becker] The longevity in a tennis career is the toughest task.
When you reach your mid-20s you're still powerful.
But your competitors are more powerful.
So how can you beat them?
My biggest strength was always my power.
Then in the second half of my career, my biggest strength became my mind.
Gamesmanship and starting to read the opponent became my biggest asset.
[Stich] I was a very emotional player.
When I was, let's say, stable and feeling good,
I played my best tennis.
When something rattled or unsettled me, it affected my tennis.
I beat him in Wimbledon in '91.
Two years later, I was feeling great about my game
and I went to Wimbledon and thought,
there's no one else who's gonna win the title but me.
[crowd cheers, applauds]
It was a really tough five-setter.
[crowd cheering]
[Stich] And in the fifth set, I had break point against me.
[line umpire] Fault!
[Stich] I was ready to serve the second serve.
Boris just, uh, took up his hand as if he was not ready to return.
[interviewer] And do you think that was intentional, to try to destabilize you?
Yes.
- [line umpire] Fault. - [commentator] A double fault again.
[crowd cheering]
Basically, that decided the match.
We had to change ends,
and I said something to him which was not very nice.
[interviewer] You think you can tell us what you said to Boris--
No.
Ask him if he still remembers. [inhales sharply]
I don't remember. I mean, again, I was probably in my zone.
He could have said whatever he wanted to say, it wouldn't have rattled me.
[Stich] I didn't think it was very sportsmanlike,
but, you know, on the one hand it's maybe not fair, in a way.
But on the other hand, it's my fault that I dealt with it in the wrong way.
[interviewer] But it still pissed you off.
Uh, it still does up to the day. [sighs]
[laughing]
Interesting that 30 years later he would remember.
If he was bothered that I turned around and he served a double fault, so be it.
He was a pretty tough dude.
I mean, there wasn't too much smiles or "Good shot."
It was all business.
[Becker] You know, Nick made me stronger.
Agassi and Bollettieri had a very public breakup,
and so, obviously, sooner or later I had to play against Agassi.
He had one of the best returns of all time.
My strength, my serve, was always playing into his hands.
[crowd gasps, cheering]
[commentator] I think, honestly, he's playing as well as he's able.
But, really, against an Agassi in this form, well, it must be terrifying.
[Becker] So, we're playing pretty late in my career.
And he was better and he was younger, and he just-- he started toying with me.
[crowd gasps]
[court announcer] Love-15.
[Gilbert] I started coaching Andre in '94,
and, you know, Nick was obviously coaching Boris at that time.
Andre had spent a lot of years with him, so maybe he was pissed about something.
I threw my tactics, the way I played Boris, completely out the window.
Okay, here's a guy I've, you know, played umpteen times,
but now Andre plays him totally different.
- [commentator] Oh. - [court announcer] Game, Agassi.
Boris' strengths were his serve
and his ability to play one-strike tennis.
So, get the point, start it in your favor.
Don't let Boris get in a pattern that he was comfortable with.
And Andre was absolutely taking Boris to the woodshed
and was literally probably putting the worst beatdown on Boris' career,
on any surface, let alone grass.
He won, I don't know, 6-1 the first set.
He's up 4-1, he's just laughing and giggling
and toying with me on Wimbledon Centre Court,
which I consider my home.
[Barbara] Every time we, um, got to meet Andre
it was, like, the biggest hurdle, you know,
because it was so emotional.
It was a big win if we won. It was a horrible loss if we lost.
He had some crazy, um, abilities
where you would think he did not get this ball back, right?
[commentator] Oh, brilliant.
[crowd cheering]
[commentator 2] I'm beginning to feel very, very sorry for Boris Becker.
[Bollettieri] Everybody thought it was over.
[interviewer] Did you think it was over?
No, I didn't.
- [interviewer] Honestly? - Honestly I didn't think it was over.
[Becker] So I was thinking, how can I get him?
He's in a momentum, he's winning.
How can I change it?
[commentator 2] Time.
[crowd cheering, applauding]
[interviewer] Now there was a story, I have to ask you about it,
just because everybody tells different versions of the story.
Oh, I probably have a different version too.
- [laughs] - [interviewer] Um...
I-I'm not gonna get into the controversy at Wimbledon.
That moment, it was like one of those great learning experiences.
No matter what the score is, don't let your guard down.
I told him a certain thing.
I'd rather not say exactly what I told him.
All I knew is that we had to hit a big shot,
let Andre know it and let the box know it,
"I've got your number, baby."
[commentator] Well played.
[crowd cheering]
[Bollettieri] Andre was soft.
Things got to him though.
[Becker] At the time he was engaged to Brooke Shields.
I made some, I think, charming comments to-to his fiancée and to the box,
and I-- I made this whole thing as a theater play.
Agassi reacted.
[interviewer] As Boris tells the story,
he claimed that he was kind of, like, playfully waving or something with Brooke
in ways that destabilized Andre.
You ever heard that story before?
Never. But, um, I probably would know it if it's really true. [laughs]
[interviewer] Right, because you were all sitting in the competitors' boxes.
Maybe I thought he was waving at me.
[interviewer] Boris tried to throw him off
and started, like, blowing kisses at Brooke.
Do you remember that? Was that...
[stammering] I-I don't remember it, you know,
but if he said it, you know, he said it.
I could see where that would be irritating
if he's waving to Brooke or doing some dumb thing like that,
you know, that could get under Andre's skin.
On the one hand, if a feather dropped the wrong way
it could destabilize someone.
Even someone as great as Andre Agassi, potentially.
And on the other hand, you could drop a, you know,
a car from the side of a building and that wouldn't affect him.
You know, it depends. What was he going through then?
You know, it turned out his marriage with Brooke wasn't that successful.
But, I mean, you're out there, you're competing,
you're doing whatever it takes to win.
["Navajo Joe Main Title" playing]
- [crowd cheering] - [song continues]
[court announcer] Game, Becker.
[crowd cheers, applauds]
You could see it in his eyes, and we would look at each other
and said, "Yeah, we can go home now. He's gonna win this."
[song continues]
[crowd gasps, cheers]
- [court announcer] Game, Becker. - [exclaims]
[commentator] That's it.
[court announcer] Game, set, and match, Becker.
2-6, 7-6, 6-4, 7-6.
Obviously he returned the favor, because in tennis you always meet twice.
Andre wanted to show that he has grown as a player
and even Nick Bollettieri can't teach anybody how to play him.
So, a few weeks later we meet again.
Boy, we didn't like each other.
- [chuckles] Just to say the least. - [crew member laughs]
That match, he was just untouchable.
[crowd cheers, applauds]
[Becker] I tried the same strategy
- with Brooke... - Yes!
...and I got involved in his-- in his corner,
but obviously she didn't react the same.
[crowd cheers, applauds]
[Becker] And, just, he was full-on and he attacked me.
On the tennis court, of course.
[crowd cheers, applauds]
So the point was really, you know, mix up your game.
If I-- If I play one-dimensional, serve and volley, first, second serve,
Agassi's gonna give me a whuppin', right?
[chuckling] And that's exactly what happened.
[crowd cheering]
[court announcer] Game, match, Agassi.
Three sets to one.
7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4.
Well, you know, I'm just bringing my game at him basically.
I think, uh, you know, there are definitely game plans
that you don't care to really discuss,
and, uh, by the same token, uh, more importantly than anything,
I have to be returning well.
[Becker] You want to read the other server's habits.
Somehow Agassi did read my game very well.
[Gilbert] Boris had this tell.
And in Munich, two and a half months after he's retired,
we went to the Oktoberfest.
Boris picked us up, he had a little bit of a buzz,
and Boris asked Andre,
"How did you read my serve so well?"
And Andre stood up,
and he stands up and he does the,
you know, how he did his whole little routine,
and then he takes his tongue and he twirls it to the left,
and he goes, "You're serving wide in the deuce court.
Tongue up the middle, you're going down the middle."
"Tongue wide in the ad court, you're going."
[line umpire] Out.
[court announcer] Deuce.
Boris was completely disheveled
by Andre telling him this story about his tongue.
And then I ask Andre, "Dude, you never told me that story."
He goes, "If I'd have told you that story, you would not have believed me."
[crowd gasps, cheering]
[shouts in German]
[Gilbert, in English] After that match I don't think he ever lost to Boris again.
[Becker] I call a tennis year a dog year.
You have so many emotions, we travel so much,
so much practice, so many disappointments.
You know, 'cause most tennis players lose more than they win.
So usually you leave a city because you're a loser.
[synthesizer music playing]
- [in German] Mr. Boris, welcome! - Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to "Boris Becker in Person."
Two days before Christmas.
Boris, if I might play Christmas Angel for you again,
I could grant you three wishes for 1996.
My even bigger sporting wish would be to win a Grand Slam tournament.
[Becker, in English] You know, it ended up in 1996 in Australia,
showing one more time that-that I'm good when I really have to be.
[crowd applauds]
[Becker] Barbara was there, you know, even Noah.
He was able to see, you know, his dad win for the first time.
And so it was a real circle of life coming through for me.
[Bollettieri] I think that, uh,
he probably wanted his son to remember him, you know,
as-- as a macho guy.
[commentator] Boris looks keen, doesn't he?
[Becker] I was 29,
but I'd been a professional then for 14 years.
That's a-- That's a very long time.
You can say, you know, 29 is not that old yet.
But if you're coming from where I'm coming from... [chuckles]
...it's an eternity.
- Trust me, it's a life. - [interviewer] Yes.
[crowd gasps, cheering]
That was an amazing moment. Amazing.
That was, um, pure joy.
The Australian people are fantastic tennis fans.
He was very much embraced. A very, very good match. Loved it.
- [commentator] That's it. - [court announcer] Game, set, match...
[commentator] Becker's won his second Australian Open.
I think we even celebrated for two minutes after that.
[crowd cheers, applauds]
[court announcer] The 1996 men's singles champion,
Boris Becker of Germany.
Well, it's been five years since, uh, I spoke last time to you.
And, uh, to tell you the truth, I didn't think I had a Grand Slam left in me.
But, uh...
But thanks to my-my wife, and--
who gave me so much support and love over the last five years,
I-I was able to do it.
And I want to thank my coach for-- for keeping the fire inside of me burning,
for giving me a self-belief I didn't have in a long time.
Then I have to thank obviously the sponsors, Ford and Channel 7,
you know, for putting some money into this event.
[crowd laughing]
I hope it's full.
This tournament is a really truly great event.
And, you know, even though I lost so many times in the first round, I...
[crowd laughs]
...I-I still saw it at-at home on the television and I had a good time.
[crowd laughing, applauding]
I was again knocking at the door of-of-of number one, number two.
Pete and Andre were one and two but I was really challenging them.
I went to Wimbledon, I was number two in the world.
And I was one of the favorites.
And I played the third round.
And I hit a forehand return too late.
[grunts, exclaims]
[commentator] Hurt his wrist in doing that.
[Becker] And I break my wrist.
[crowd clamoring]
[commentator 2] Well, it looks like Boris...
is conceding.
[commentator 1] Yes, he is. Oh, what a shame for the former champion.
[crowd applauds]
[Becker] What do I do?
A lot of rehabbing and doctors and needles and pills and you name it
just to get back to the tennis court.
I want to decide when I stop.
I think it's important for my-- for my sanity, uh,
that an injury cannot make me stop.
[crowd cheers, applauds]
Just a year later, I play Pete Sampras in the quarterfinal.
And I knew beforehand he's maybe a little bit too good.
[crowd cheers, applauds]
But I play well and I thought, what a great way of calling it quits.
Against the number one player in the world,
one of the greatest of all time, on Wimbledon Centre Court,
the tournament that-that matters to me most.
[Sampras grunting]
[commentator] It's long.
[court announcer] Game, set, match, Sampras.
[commentator] And Sampras is into the semifinals.
[indistinct chatter]
That was probably my last match at Wimbledon.
- It was a pleasure being with you. - Okay, you too.
So I tell him, "It's gonna be my last match, I will retire now."
They had microphones on the court, which I didn't know.
[commentator, indistinct]
[McEnroe] That is definitely what he said. There's a couple of possibilities.
The heat of the moment being one, losing.
[McEnroe] As you get older you're physically not able to do much.
And some of it's mental.
When you get-- [stammers] It just--
It takes a lot to, you know, continue to believe in yourself,
uh... [stammers, exhales]
...whoever it is.
[Tiriac] You're big enough to choose what you want to do.
You want to quit, you quit. You want to stay, you stay.
You want to do something else, you want to do something else.
But, uh, he did a lot.
[interviewer] Do you think Boris fulfilled his potential as a tennis player or--
No.
No. Not even close.
[Becker] I realized that this can't go on.
I want to play one more Wimbledon and then that's it.
Like an idiot, I injured my right ankle playing football.
My doctor said, "No, no, with this ankle you cannot play Wimbledon.
I mean, that's it. You can't play."
I said, "I don't know what you give me,
and I don't care how bad it hurts,
I will play one more Wimbledon and that's it."
[official, over PA] Do not leave property unattended
for however short a period.
Could I also request that portable telephones
are not to be used around the courts when play is in progress.
Please do turn them off. Thank you.
[Becker] I announced this is going to be my last tennis tournament.
And I always thought that I don't want to retire on Court Number 2.
I want to retire on Centre Court. [chuckles]
You know, ranking wise, I wasn't one of the top players anymore,
so I had to accept whatever court they put me on.
But Wimbledon works magic.
I reached the fourth round.
So they put me on Centre Court against Patrick Rafter.
[crowd cheering, applauding]
And I felt, "Hmm, maybe I have a chance," so my mind was going crazy.
[crowd applauds]
[Becker] And I-I got back to reality and I realized, "What am I talking about?
I'm-I'm happy going out today against a player I respect a lot
and on Wimbledon Centre Court, you know."
A bit like in the movies. You want to have that script.
- [commentator 1] Still. - [commentator 2] Match point against it.
- [line umpire] Out! - [announcer] Game, set, match, Rafter.
Rafter wins by three sets to none, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
[crowd cheering, applauding]
[commentator 1] Changing of the guard.
[cheering, applauding continues]
[Becker] Now, um,
I think the first beer was opened right after the match.
And then there was another beer, and I started to be carried away.
I wanted to say goodbye then to, um, my coach, my physio,
uh, and my stringer, at a dinner that I organized then that night at Nobu.
I came home to the hotel, and my mother was there and my wife.
She was pregnant with our second son.
I said, "Tomorrow I'm gonna be, um, the husband and-and the father and home,
but tonight I want to celebrate."
My wife was slightly pissed off. [laughs]
"Your tennis life is over. You know, you have to take responsibilities."
I said, "Yeah. Tomorrow morning, yes. But tonight let me be.
It's the last time I'm a tennis player. Tomorrow it's over."
[interviewer] Was that a big moment for you in terms of--
Yes.
But it was a big moment because he had just lost his father.
And his mother was
dressed in black because she just lost her husband.
It felt like, you know, he's going and we all are in the dust.
And it was dramatic, I thought.
I don't know this man, you know? I don't know him like this.
It's almost like you know, like--
You-- I was a team member and I got, uh, let go
because the job was finished.
[Becker] And I had a long discussion on the balcony with my mother.
"No, Mother, Mother, you don't understand.
I want to celebrate with my boys one last time."
She said, "Boris, just don't do anything stupid."
["Boom Boom" playing]
[Becker] We celebrated and we had a couple more drinks,
and I run into Angela.
I've met Angela two weeks prior, also at Nobu.
[song continues]
Lots of things have been said.
I wouldn't like to go in all the details,
but I can tell you we went to the back room.
Uh, no, it wasn't the cupboard. The cupboard is way too small at Nobu.
If you ever go to the cupboard,
it is impossible to have any sort of physical activity in the cupboard.
We got together. We had sex.
[song continues]
I had no number for Angela. I had no contact.
And that was that.
Went back to my team, my boys.
Uh, you know, we paid the bill, and I went home.
The next morning we flew home to Munich.
It was a very difficult period in my life for many reasons.
My father has passed earlier that year.
He was the decision-maker for the family,
and for him to pass away before I retired,
it's still difficult today.
I'd-I'd love to have him around.
[interviewer] What else was rattling around in your head?
Well, the fact-- the fact, you know, that I was retiring.
You've had enough, but you're a young man.
The rest of your life is in front of you, so you don't know what's coming next.
It's sort of, you know, walking into a dark room.
[stammers] You don't know what's gonna hit you.
[Becker, in German] Match point at Wimbledon...
I can't imagine having such a high once again.
When it's over with my profession, with playing tennis,
I won't look for a new profession where I can find excitement.
I'll search for that in my private life then.
[Borg, in English] When you step away from the game, it's very, very difficult.
We've been talking about that a lot, me and Boris.
It's going to take a while to adjust,
to step away from that structure, to that scheduling--
what to do, not to do.
To love to go on the court, practicing, play matches, winning.
You come into a completely different life.
[reporter] Since his retirement from tennis,
Borg's personal life has taken a tragic turn
from the number-one tennis player in the world
to ten years of unhappy marriage, child custody disputes,
millions lost in business ventures, and reported drug use.
A desperate time in his life.
[interviewer] To the media, Borg's life after retirement
was like a long-running soap opera.
Almost a decade after retiring,
he tried to recapture his former glory by returning to the tour
with his old look and wooden racket.
But the game had moved on.
Former stars like Borg or Becker
have to learn how to live in the real world
when the cheering stops.
It's tough sometimes when you're sort of used to being treated a certain way
and then all of a sudden that changes,
particularly when you're losing more
and then you have to stop playing, and your identity, and that whole BS.
- It's not BS, actually, but... - [interviewer] Yeah, it is.
...athletes have to deal with it.
It's not-- It's not easy.
His life was just like-- There was such a big break, you know?
And I don't think you can really prepare for that.
What's next, you know? "Where are you going?"
"Are you staying home now?" It's like, "But what are we doing?" You know?
And so I think we just... you know, went different ways.
[machine beeps, whirs]
[Becker] Eight months later, there was a fax.
I remember most of the words. Uh, they--
"You may not remember me."
Uh, uh, "Our last meeting, uh, is eight months old."
Uh, uh, "Here's my number. Call me."
And I just couldn't believe.
The next week, I met Angela in London. You know, rented the whole--
I think the whole floor... [chuckles] ...of the hotel.
I was really, um, under pressure.
And, um, you know, she came in. She had a big coat on.
And she took the coat off. She was heavily pregnant.
And-- And she just explained to me
that I'm the father, uh, um, of this child.
And I said, "Well, let's-- I believe you."
You know, we had sex.
But, "Let's-- Let's-- You know, you have the baby,
and then we got to the doctor and we'd make a DNA test,
and-- and if it's my baby,
I'm responsible for it. I will-- I will look after, period."
[interviewer] When Boris told me this story,
it sounded compelling and straightforward.
But when I looked into it, the story turned out to be
a bit more complicated,
especially after the baby was born.
[Becker] Once I knew,
in the spring of-- of 2000, uh, that I have, um...
another child... [stammers] ...a daughter,
uh, I knew, um, I have to speak to Barbara
because, uh, you know, she has to find out from me first.
[Barbara] If you make it into a movie, you would have, like--
like, somebody screaming and somebody slamming a door
and, like, you think of it like this-- like, as a moment to tell the story.
But I really don't see it like this because there were so many moments
where you could have changed the whole path, you know?
For me, it's not just that one moment.
For me, it's like a continuous drifting apart, a continuous, uh, separation.
Getting a little emotional right now, but, you know, I'm telling you the truth.
And, um, you know, she said, "Well, I still love you.
I still want to be with you.
Let's, I don't know, somehow find a way," and I said, "Well... [stammers] ...thanks."
Many months, the public-- nobody knew yet. The story didn't break. But--
But every little thing we discussed, she came with the joker card
that said, "You shut the fuck up now,
because if the world would know what you've done, you lost anyway."
And I said, "You're right, but this is not the relationship I can live.
This is impossible."
I said, uh, "Barbara, I-I-- I think we need a break."
[interviewer] Once the Beckers, Barbara and Boris,
announced their separation,
Angela, the mother of Boris' youngest child,
went public with the Nobu story.
- Excuse me, please. - I have nothing to say
till the court case is over.
[interviewer] But unlike the story Boris told me,
Boris had actually responded in the moment
with a series of tall tales that tried to cast himself
as the victim of the Nobu affair.
[Angela Ermakova] He agreed to do the test, um, a long time ago
when Anna was born.
If he would have done it at the beginning,
um, it would have never gotten to the public eye,
because, uh, he could have just dealt with the publicity issues himself.
No one never needed to know how, when-- when it happened.
I didn't take him down. He took himself down.
[in German] Hello and welcome to our special program,
"The War of the Roses: Becker vs. Becker."
We go now to Miami to meet our correspondent Christof Lang.
He's standing before the municipal court in Miami.
[in English] You must understand, there was live coverage in Germany.
- [interviewer] Live coverage? - Live coverage in Germany
about the trial and divorce of Boris and Barbara Becker. Live.
[in German] The whole day yesterday was very, very exciting
and also quite dramatic. Boris had breakfast yesterday morning
and had another discussion with his lawyer there.
Then he drove to Fisher Island and met Barbara and her lawyer.
Incidentally, that was the first time they had
spoken together privately since their split.
And I had the impression that he was preparing for a big tennis match.
[interviewer, in English] Barbara had signed a German prenup,
which put a cap on any divorce settlement.
She gambled that she could do better in a Miami court.
[Becker] She went to our apartment in Miami Beach with the two boys.
She said, "Yes, I have-- I have the best lawyers now."
And then she got a little bit nasty, and I said, "Fine.
I'm only gonna get the second-best lawyers."
She had the best lawyers, I had the second-best lawyers. That's fine.
We're very, very, uh, disappointed at-- at the legal maneuvering
that-that tries to raise this question of kidnapping. It's...
[interviewer] Sam Burstyn was a legendary lawyer in South Florida,
famous for high-profile drug cases.
He deftly returned Boris's serve by ridiculing Becker's claim
that Barbara had kidnapped the children by taking them to Miami.
But then Boris hit back by playing the German card.
[Becker] I was told that he's a pretty aggressive guy
and-and obviously very sharp and-and you have to be careful.
[translator speaking German]
[Becker] And I said, "Well, can I have a translator?
Because I'd like to speak in my-- my mother tongue.
[speaks indistinctly]
That pisses Sam a little bit off because you lose your momentum.
You know, when you get quizzed quickly and you have to answer quickly,
you know, it's translated so it really slowed down the pace.
That really didn't-- didn't play in his playbook.
[person] The testimony best be...
[in German] We asked whether it was actually right for Barbara
to get more money
in the USA despite a German marriage contract.
Twenty-four percent answers answered that it's right,
but 58% still don't think it's fair.
[interviewer, in English] The legal volleys went back and forth.
Sam Burstyn threatened to question Boris
about business practices that might be unethical or worse.
In return, Boris promised that his lawyers would grill Barbara
on the stand for hours.
[Becker] Barbara calls me.
"We have to sort this. I don't want to go to court tomorrow."
I said-- [sighs] I was playing my card.
I said, "Well, I-I mean, again, you're right to do what you do.
I fucked up.
But now, six months later, uh, uh, uh,
you get-- you get-- it gets nasty with the lawyers
and you do court and everything, not right.
Ask me what you want, I can give it to you."
We negotiated.
We made an agreement that we don't speak about numbers,
but believe me, she's a wealthy woman.
[interviewer] Between divorce settlements and child support,
Becker's expenses were mounting up.
Then he was convicted of tax fraud, and on the hook for huge fines.
It was a tough losing streak, one that Boris tried to handle with grace.
After all, he and Barbara may have learned the lesson
of the Kipling quote at the players' door to Wimbledon's center court,
"Triumph and disaster are both impostors, and should be treated just the same."
Hmm.
[Barbara speaking indistinctly]
[player] You're crushing me on television.
- [scoffs] - [Barbara speaking indistinctly]
[laughs]
Intense.
[Barbara] You can't have your cake and eat it.
That I have this beautiful family, that I have my kids, that I have this life
has to do with the pain also that I had to endure.
So I also look at this as not only a learning experience,
but something that had to happen for me to be here,
for you to talk to me, for me to be here, you know, to have these kids.
So I see it as a full thing,
and this is how I see my relationship with Boris,
with a lot of gratitude of what was and what is,
and, um, with love, you know?
I only have to talk about it when you come.
- [laughs] - [interviewer laughs]
[Becker] It's called life. You have to move on.
As long as you-- you make sure that the kids are fine,
I think, you know, we as adults, we have to move on, and--
My difficult part was then, um, how do I deal with my daughter?
[babbling]
So I said, um, "Angela, I think it's time for Anna to meet her brothers."
I have a finca in Mallorca. I made a, you know, big family holiday
where I had Anna and Angela together now in the house
with my mother, with my sister, with-- with the boys.
I mean, it was unbelievable.
If you would have told me that when that first story happened,
he said that it's an impossibility.
Regardless of what the world says, the media says,
this is a normal family situation.
I was dividing my time, uh, between Miami Beach
and Switzerland in Zurich, and Miami Beach.
I took Noah for a pizza to the local Italian.
This woman walks to the bar.
And she was just the most beautiful woman I've seen in my life.
One of Lilly's biggest qualities was always to, uh,
cater and adapt and handle my kids, including my daughter.
Those are the most important things in my life, and if they like you,
then-- then you already won me over, because they are-- they are, um...
they are so important.
I told her, "Listen, I think we should get married.
I want you to, you know, move to Europe," and she said,
um, "Yeah. Yeah. I love you. Let's get married."
[in German] Welcome to our "Exclusiv Spezial,"
Boris's dream wedding in St. Moritz.
[reporter] The rehearsal-- first item on the agenda after
the couple landed in the posh Swiss town of St. Moritz
by private jet on Thursday afternoon.
Somehow everyone seems to be in a state of excitement about it all.
[speaking German]
[reporter] "Here comes the bride."
In front of the car, hotel employees and security forces strive to
protect the bride from the all-too-curious eyes of photographers.
[guard 1 in English] Back, back, back, back, back.
[guard 2] Okay. Let's go.
[bell tolling]
[in English] "I, Boris, take you, Sharlely, to be my wife."
"To have and to hold from this day forward..."
"To have and hold from this day forward..."
"For better and for worse..."
[minister] "For richer or for poorer..."
"For richer or poorer..."
["The Air That I Breathe" playing]
[grunts]
[reporter] What a doubles pair these two would make.
The six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker has joined
the coaching team of the world number two, Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic called Becker "a true legend."
[crew member] Take some time to adjust if necessary.
[interviewer] Yeah, let's just take a quick look.
[crew member] We're recording.
[interviewer] Let's begin at the beginning.
- Why did you reach out to Boris? - [inhales sharply]
- Mental strength. [laughs] - [interviewer laughs]
That's how I would describe, uh, Boris.
[Becker] We spoke.
And I said, "Well, I'm too old to bullshit you, you know?
I've followed you and your career,
and you always come across as a street fighter."
[applause]
"And once you're in a final with whoever, you gave it away.
You bag it in, you tank. Why?"
He said, "Yeah, I'm frustrated. I-- I can't--"
Then I said, "Well, there's a reason. We need to speak about it."
[crowd murmurs]
[Becker] "So you have to believe in what I'm telling you,
and this is my opinion about your forehand and your serve
and the backhand and the attitude,
and you're too rushed and everything that I've heard."
Six hours later, he-- he said, um, "You wanna coach me?"
[grunts]
[McEnroe] Truthfully, I think Boris did a great job with Novak,
but, you know, in some ways, you could be like,
- "Here. Go out on the court." - [interviewer laughs]
"Good. Play well."
I mean, that's Novak Djokovic you're talking about.
It turned out he's pretty good, right?
I'm sure there were some tactical things.
It's not like Boris doesn't know the game, but this was more about, you know,
what goes on here.
When you go onto the court against Rafa Nadal,
it's not about how many forehands do you hit, how many winners do you hit.
It's-- You gotta get good starts in sets.
And you get good starts in sets by not letting your head drop at all.
Like you believe it's just a matter of time
before I'm gonna take the lead in this match,
and I thought with Boris, he grew as a person.
[Becker] It gets personal.
You know, "You want-- You want your mother to cry
or you want his mother to cry?
You're a proud Serbian. You're a proud family man.
You would do anything to protect the family.
That's how you have to play. That's the attitude.
Because Rafael wants to do the same, Roger wants to do the same,
and Andy want to do the same.
They want to protect their families. Oh, now go out and do it."
Then we still had to overcome a couple of inner demons
that I can't talk about.
Why he faltered on the last hurdle.
[interviewer] What Boris discovered was that Novak was so haunted
by something he had done off the court,
that he was subconsciously punishing himself on the court
by losing in the final rounds.
Boris told Novak that unless he reckoned with those inner demons, he wouldn't win.
We did talk about all the off-court activities
that could be favorable
and-- and also the other ones that they are actually a distraction.
He asked me, "Okay, so what do you want from tennis?
Do you have clarity of your goal?" So I said, "Yeah, of course.
I want to write the history of the sport, and, um, and I want to do it with you."
So, you know, we clicked right away.
[grunts]
[Becker] The whole reason for making this relationship work
is winning.
And-- And I'm not satisfied until you hold up this trophy.
[crowd gasping, cheering]
[commentator 1 groans] That's unbelievable.
[commentator 2] Isn't that?
[Djokovic] That match was a roller coaster.
Roger on grass, he always requires you to come out
as your best self in order to have a chance to win.
[crowd gasps]
- [crowd cheering] - [commentator 1 chuckles]
[commentator 2] Game's changed a bit, hasn't it?
So a little tennis lesson for free now for you.
Roger Federer changed his game.
He's standing there on the baseline.
He takes the ball much earlier. He plays attacking on the returns,
surprising everybody because he has the technique to do so.
It has to become second nature. It has to become an instinct.
[crowd gasping, cheering]
[Becker] Novak has the ability to hit the ball very quickly as a half volley.
Because he had to adapt to Roger.
[crowd gasping, cheering]
[Djokovic] It's a battle. It's a fight.
Unpredictable things happen.
Somebody takes you out of your comfort zone, right?
[Djokovic] Come on!
[commentator 3] Djokovic is cross.
Novak is very emotional.
He always gets temperamental when the crowd supports the other guy.
And he's using that to show with the fingers, often to the crowd,
"You have woken me up now. I'm gonna beat this guy."
But sometimes it backfires.
[crowd cheers]
He gets frustrated and is losing his temper,
and his mind stops, and he loses.
The magic word is called balance.
[crowd shouts, cheers]
You know, having him there, he was just so serene.
He was just so strong, and he stood his ground.
He knows exactly what I'm going through.
"Okay, I'm back here again where I need to be
and focused on the next point."
[crowd cheering]
Throughout the match, there was a lot of oscillations, right?
[crowd cheering]
In those most important moments,
having Boris there just gave me that fuel
and that extra inch to overcome the challenge.
[crowd gasping, cheering]
[crowd gasping]
[crowd cheering]
- [commentator 2] Oh, amazing. - [crowd gasping, cheering]
- [groans] - [crowd cheering]
[commentator 1] It's Djokovic who claims this classic.
[announcer] 6-7, 6-4, 7-6...
[commentator 1] 6-4 in the fifth.
They hug, and so surely will these two. Wonderful, wonderful final.
And he walks through the gate to embrace friends and loved ones.
Well done, Boris.
[Djokovic] '14 was in a way, a springboard, you know?
The big opening, you know. That was a huge wind in the sails
that allowed us to really have an incredible run
in the next two and a half years.
[crowd cheering]
[interviewer] Djokovic went on to win the next two ATP Finals
and five of the next seven Grand Slams, including the French Open.
But by the summer of 2016, the relentless focus and pressure
began to take its toll.
[Djokovic] If you want to be a champion, it's all on you.
I was going through a period, um, where I was
really looking for myself somehow, you know, off the court.
I could see a drop in intensity, a drop in motivation.
Natural. I mean, how much more you want to win.
[Djokovic] Played Wimbledon, third round.
There was a couple of rain interruptions and I found myself in a room.
And I just-- I sat there, and I told my team, "Can--" you know,
"Can everyone leave me? I just want to be by myself."
And I just looked at the wall and I was like-- just-- I was dull.
Literally no drive inside of me.
And then I knew that-- that he wants to tell me something.
He said, "Listen, boss, I'm-- I'm a little tired.
You know, I don't want to play the way I used to."
"Well, listen. First of all, I love you.
And I respect you.
And we've done something together
that's been an unbelievable journey for me, Boris Becker.
I learned something about me and about tennis
and maybe a bit about you.
Um... uh, uh, I'm not good at losing.
And if you want to go to Shanghai or want to go to Paris
and you're happy to be there, I'm the wrong guy for you.
I think we'd better stop."
[people chattering]
[Djokovic] Even after that, we kept the relation going.
Like, we never stopped.
Because, you know, he was always there. He's still there.
Boris is family to me, you know.
- [both] Shatzi! - [speaks German]
Super.
- How are you? - Good.
- It's good to see you. - Let's go. Let's go, yeah?
- Here we go. - Let's go, huh?
Here we go.
I like it. I like it.
- Now is important. - Now...
- [laughing] - Huh?
- Good. Good. - Very good.
[in English] Yeah. [in German] I like it.
Everything's good, yeah. I'm fine.
But now you're a little...
a little more...
[in English] ...focus, huh?
- [in German] You know that. - [in English] Good. Good. That's good.
- Hmm? - [person speaks German]
- [chattering] - [person in English] Okay.
[Becker] I want to learn something from the master.
[laughs]
[Becker] How to return, how to move.
- [Djokovic] I'll try to come to the net. - [Becker laughs]
[crowd chatters]
[interviewer] If you think about it, tennis is a binary game
measured in hits and misses, ones and zeros.
[chattering]
On the court, Boris knew how to play with the numbers.
Off the court, he never seemed to know how to make sense of them.
[tennis ball echoing]
[interviewer] I mean, maybe the best way to start
is for you to explain.
'Cause I think-- I-I certainly don't understand it
and I think a lot of people don't understand it.
How were you thrown into bankruptcy in the first place?
[inhales sharply]
Um, good question.
Uh, uh, very few people have actually asked me that.
I'm trying to, you know, explain it, uh, uh, as best as I can.
Thank you, sir. Thank you so much. God bless.
Awesome.
[Becker] A lot of athletes, we believe that the amount of money
we earn during our careers will continue to come in after.
So we don't adapt our lifestyles quick enough.
You keep on spending money that you don't make anymore.
You spend that money that you made before.
So, yeah, I'm blaming me.
[fans chattering]
- Thank you. - Thank you, Boris.
- Boris. - Thank you.
[young fan] Boris!
[Tiriac] I told him, I say, "Boris, put the money in the bank
and be happy with two percent, three percent, five percent.
You cannot spend it."
"No, no, no, no, no. I know investments."
I said, "Good. You want to play Monopoly?
Take five percent of all you have, and that's millions and millions,
take it out and play with them.
And when you lose them all, say, 'I learned a lesson.'
I learned a lesson."
But, uh, the child with a flame, huh?
And more important, the people around him...
taking advantage.
[interviewer] It's not hard to see why a star like Boris
attracts people who might take advantage of him.
He's charming, perhaps a bit naive.
He's bright and charismatic and super famous,
the kind of guy you always have a good time with.
He lives the way he played tennis--
charging the net, taking risks, going for broke.
And for many years, his business arrangements
with Hans-Dieter Cleven allowed him to live like a rock star.
Cleven played the role of the producer,
picking up the tabs, doing deals on napkins,
and taking care of the books.
Cleven always made sure that Boris had enough cash to live large.
In return, Cleven got up to half the upside from marketing Boris
and was able to share the star's spotlight.
He attended Boris's wedding to Lilly and threw them an Oktoberfest party
complete with dirndls and lederhosen.
Boris and Lilly hung out with billionaires,
like John Caudwell, a Brit who founded and sold a cell phone empire.
And they spent more and more time in Mallorca,
expanding their finca, a ten-bedroom mansion
on a 53-acre estate.
[pop music playing]
[announcer, in German] Yes, Boris Becker, the tennis god
of yesteryear is now also in television.
Welcome to my finca in Mallorca.
Welcome to Boris Becker TV.
This is the entrance hall.
Up here on the right is the bedchamber.
And of course no cameras in there, that is clear!
Let's go straight to the living room.
Maybe you'll see a fireplace.
We hired six Moroccans and worked
for half a year and cut out all the individuals parts here.
I need sports to live.
And at my age, jogging doesn't go so well anymore.
That's why I have to swim more.
And I can let off steam a bit here.
[in English] That house in Spain was great, but I was living in Switzerland.
In 2012, Lilly said, "Do you mind, Boris, moving to Wimbledon?" I said, "What?"
If there is one village in-in the world that I love
and call home, it's Wimbledon.
They call me the most popular German in Britain.
And my response to that is, I don't think the list is very long.
I really feel at home. Lived in London ever since.
[pedestrian] Hello, Boris. Good to see you, sir.
[interviewer] Boris tells the story as if he and Lilly had settled down
to a life of tea and crumpets.
But all that jet-setting was expensive,
and financially, he still hadn't learned to keep score.
When Lilly wanted to leave Switzerland, Boris split up with Cleven.
But that business divorce left him with a Swiss tax bill of 3 million euros,
something he couldn't pay.
Since Cleven was gone,
Boris turned for help to British bankers at Arbuthnot Latham
who offered a solution.
Boris could borrow 4.6 million euros,
secured against his future earnings as a brand ambassador and TV personality.
Boris Becker!
[interviewer] Surely, one way or another,
England's favorite German could make good on the loan.
The problem occurred that after about a year into the loan,
I couldn't pay back what I was supposed to pay back
because some of my contracts have fallen away.
Scheisse.
If I-- I would have been an asshole, I could have said,
"You made the contract. Bad luck."
But I wasn't an asshole. I said, "I have a finca in Spain
that's valued at ten million euros.
So you have security of the finca,
and I have time to pay you back from my future earnings."
But then we found out there was, um, a charge on that finca
from a bridge loan that I got from John Caudwell.
- John. - Hi there. How you doing?
- Nice to see you. [laughs] - Good to see you.
Thanks for your time.
You don't get this stuff at IKEA, do you, John?
[both laughing]
[Becker] That loan, because it was a bridge loan,
had 25% interest on it.
Why so high? Because, "A," I needed quickly that money,
and "B," I was gonna sell the finca in the next three months.
[interviewer] Okay, you're going to sell your house,
but you need money to fix it up.
So you take out a short-term, high-interest loan.
But in the case of the finca,
the situation was a bit more desperate than Boris had led on.
Boris owed contractors over 500,000 euros, and he had many other debts and expenses
that needed his attention.
Would the loan be enough to cover everything?
[interviewer] Why did you take out that bridge loan, the 1.2 million?
I can't tell you all the payments that are done,
but it was not done for my personal benefits.
I had bills to pay.
My lifestyle was probably still too expensive.
I had an ex-wife to pay. I had four children.
It was not done for my personal benefit, but to pay expensive bills.
[interviewer] Boris never did fix up the finca.
And when word spread that nobody was home, uninvited guests moved in.
♪ Twenty-five years And my life, I'm still ♪
♪ I'm trying to get up All this great big hill of hope ♪
For a destination ♪
[in German] Does someone want to go for a walk?
Come on.
[cameraperson] A goal achieved?
[laughs]
For sure.
- [cameraperson] Oh. - There, allegedly, Moroccans have come.
And they have done everything by hand.
[cameraperson laughs]
[speaking indistinctly]
Boris Becker's basketball court.
[cameraperson 2] Tennis court.
Oh, yeah, tennis court. [laughs]
The real racket. With this, Boris Becker won
Wimbledon, '85, '86 too, '87 too.
["Divine Intervention" playing]
[dog barking]
There is still something left of the birthday cake.
[exhaling deeply]
[cameraperson] We are just sitting in the Jacuzzi...
in a Jacuzzi that Boris Becker has used.
That's the thing in the media right now.
But if you live like that and let it go like that?
[horse neighing]
[in English] Talking about, you know, once a very rich man.
I mean, even at the time of my bankruptcy,
believe it or not, I was still a millionaire.
Then it was too late.
I-I had to pay taxes here, child alimony there,
uh, financial-- you name it.
So I was just in a-- in a-- in a treadmill
trying to make enough money to keep the boat afloat.
But the hole was already dug.
[interviewer] And the shovels were getting more and more expensive.
At 25%, Boris's debt skyrocketed, leaving him unable to pay.
So his British bank successfully petitioned a court in London
to throw him into bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy was tough on Boris.
These two here are Renshaw Cups, which are replicas of the original.
Undated, but... [continues indistinctly]
[interviewer] By law, the court appointed a private lawyer named Mark Ford
to collect half of Boris's income
and to liquidate Boris's most precious assets to pay off his creditors.
It's the nature of a bankruptcy that your assets,
or certainly surplus assets become available to your creditors.
The process is those assets vest in the trustee in bankruptcy,
and then it falls on them to retain specialists
in order to sell them.
[Becker] As a player, and it doesn't sound good,
but a trophy itself means very little.
What, you're gonna look at trophies at 17 and 18?
How boring is that?
They mean only something when you're older.
I like to show my trophies to my kids now.
I really do.
What can I do?
[interviewer] Suddenly, out of the blue,
a lifeline appeared from a very unlikely source--
the Central African Republic.
The CAR was offering Boris an important position
that might change everything.
He was invited to be a special attaché
for sports, humanitarian and cultural affairs.
Boris owed his good fortune to Stephan Welk,
who arranged for Becker's special diplomatic passport.
Welk was a self-described expert in diplomacy.
[Becker] Stephan, I've never met the man before, said
the president and the ambassador respect your international standing.
You know, "You do have a mixed-race family,
so you understand some of the issues better than most white people.
And they're considering giving you, um,
a seat at the Security Council in New York."
I said, "Oof, that sounds serious."
Stephan said that we could use the immunity status
to stop the bankruptcy proceedings.
And I said, "Hold on. That's two different issues.
One has nothing to do with the other."
But you yourself have said,
"I have now asserted diplomatic immunity, as I am in fact bound to do
in order to bring this farce to an end."
So you yourself have connected the two things.
That's correct, but one has nothing to do from the other.
[interviewer] I was confused.
On the one hand, Boris's lawyers publicly stated
that his status as an ambassador gave him immunity from bankruptcy.
Boris said that was true but also not true.
One had nothing to do with the other.
[speaking German]
[interviewer] I wondered, what was the point of view
in the Central African Republic?
If you want to find Boris Becker in the Central African Republic,
where better to start than the local tennis club?
Monsieur? Monsieur?
Where's Boris Becker? Where Boris Becker?
- The ambassador? - [host] Yes.
- Right, the goodwill ambassador. - [host] Yeah.
Right, right, right, right.
So he's not at the local tennis club.
How about a party full of diplomats?
It's a diplomatic hall. What do they think about Boris being a diplomat?
- Well, you know the rumors around-- - They laugh!
Really? [laughs]
I am German, yes, but I haven't met any German yet in town.
This is somebody that a lot of people know, people respect,
and all of a sudden you're hearing stuff like that and reading stuff like that.
And you-- you actually don't know what to think.
Do you have a Central African Republic passport?
Yes, I have.
[host] This is thought to be the document presented in court
by Mr. Becker's lawyers as proof he couldn't be prosecuted.
So what does the man whose signature's on it have to say?
[official] It's completely fake.
Is Mr. Boris Becker a subject in the investigation you're carrying out?
Ah, yeah. He participate to have this passport in the wrong way.
I have a real passport.
Uh, uh, it's at the-- at the embassy in Brussels,
uh, the last time I checked.
And I said, "God, why me? Why me again?"
I believed the foreign minister, and therefore, you know, it's a hoax?
My acquaintance Stephan, I told him the facts of life.
[interviewer] Welk turned out to be a crook
who was arrested for fraud and forgery.
Boris's diplomatic passport turned out to be part of a batch
that had been stolen.
The fake passports were sold to drug dealers and fraudsters.
And one ended up in the hands of the son of a Swiss millionaire
who had his Ferrari intentionally blown up
so he could pocket the insurance money.
[reporter] Uh, looking up, Lilly. Lovely. Thanks, Boris.
[Becker scoffs] It was an interesting time.
Soon after, my wife filed for divorce.
We're still not financially agreed.
Now, as anybody that knows me, I'm-- I'm a generous guy
and I want her to do well.
When I'm back on my feet, back, uh, free and everything,
we will sit down and we're gonna find a solution.
[interviewer] On the tennis court, that's so often what Boris did,
find a solution.
[crowd cheering]
And it seemed like he'd found a solution to his financial and legal problems too.
The English bank accepted his finca as repayment of his debt.
It seemed like Boris had won.
But then another opponent stepped forward,
his former partner, Hans-Dieter Cleven.
Hurt by the way Boris had ended their relationship,
Cleven suddenly claimed that Boris owed him over 40 million euros,
a claim Boris denied.
The two men battled twice in Swiss courts, where Boris won both times.
But then, in a shock to Boris,
the English bankruptcy trustees became convinced
that the debt to Cleven was real.
[Becker] The bankruptcy was gonna be over.
All of a sudden, to the surprise from all of us,
the trustee accepted his claim into the bankruptcy.
"A," why should I pay back any money on what little grounds to that man?
And "B," I don't have it either.
Right? [laughs] So-- So what is my choice? And hence,
I am-- I am now five years in bankruptcy
because of a claim that never was proved anywhere in the world,
including Switzerland.
Do I understand this? No.
Is it happening? Yes.
[interviewer] It was hard to understand the Cleven story.
Unless you thought of it as a failed marriage,
beautiful at the beginning, and messy at the end.
As part of their divorce, Cleven brandished
what looked like a list of debts--
vague charges, loan costs, private expenses.
All without receipts.
While the Swiss courts dismissed the claims,
Becker had signed the document
as a favor, according to Boris,
to help Cleven with his tax deductions.
When I found the document, I was stunned.
What was Boris thinking?
Boris traveled to Zurich for a final reckoning.
In a meeting room at the busy airport,
Boris and his lawyer tried to hammer out a deal with Cleven.
After much haggling, Cleven made an unusual offer.
Cleven would walk away from millions of euros in claims
if Boris would just... come back to him.
That was not a price Boris was willing to pay.
He returned to London.
London proved to be a legal trap.
The bankruptcy trustee refused to let Boris
use his dwindling assets to hire lawyers to sue Cleven.
Instead, the trustees sided with Cleven and his claims against Becker.
Two months later, a criminal prosecution began.
[prosecutor] Mr. Becker said, "I didn't know" or, "I was badly advised"
or "My advisers told me not to do 'X'" or "They told me to do 'Y.'"
- [interviewer] You didn't buy that? - No, that's why we're here. [laughs]
The defense essentially accepted the facts.
Moneys had been transferred.
Properties existed, and he had said that they didn't.
It all really came down to what, um-- what Mr. Becker said
he did and didn't know.
I was saying he was dishonest, and he was saying that he was honest.
[interviewer] In the court of law and even in the court of public opinion,
the case became a question of character.
Was Boris just reckless and naive, or an entitled athlete
who just didn't feel he needed to play by the rules?
Make Boris Rich Again.
[in German] And that is the sum that came from you.
You donated €541.11.
[applause]
Maybe we can give him the money there.
Boris!
We have another small gift for you.
By Oliver Pocher and his audience.
€532.38 as a gift. For you!
Boris!
Could you give a little wave? At least wave at the money!
Beginning today, Boris Becker will have to answer in court in London.
[in English] The trustee claims I'm not cooperative.
He thinks I'm hiding trophies, I'm hiding this, I'm hiding that.
It gets to the criminal part of it.
Uh, and then they-- they go after you.
[interviewer] Paparazzi camped out in front of the courthouse
to get a glimpse of Boris and his girlfriend, Lilian,
as a lengthy trial ensued.
To the jury, the facts of the case, hiding assets, or payments to ex-wives,
weren't as important as reckoning with Becker's past, present and future.
Had he learned to tell the truth, or was he still telling himself stories
about a 17-year-old who became a champion too young for his own good?
Six-time Grand Slam winner Boris Becker has been found guilty
of four charges, under the Insolvency Act, relating to his 2017 bankruptcy.
The sentencing judge said, "While I accept the humiliation you felt
as a result of these proceedings, you've shown no humility."
[interviewer] Humility and humiliation, I thought it was unfair somehow
for the judge to expect both.
It's like the way we as fans expect our athletes
to be cruel on the court and generous in the press conferences.
How does anyone, even a child born at Wimbledon,
make sense of all that?
[Lilian Monteiro] He was looking a lot at his past,
what he achieved, what he's done.
In order to be a champion, you have to believe you are invincible,
you are untouchable, you have to chase it until the end.
And you have to do probably anything in order to win that point, or that game,
or that set, you know?
So that, in my opinion,
probably brings you to a level where you think you are untouchable,
also in real life, but it's not like that.
[Becker] But I wanted to speak to you because, you know,
I may not get the chance anymore.
I'm sentenced in two days.
I'm just praying every day that the sentencing is lenient.
Uh, ideally, a suspended sentence.
Uh, any sentence, of course, I would accept, I have no choice.
Uh, so, this is where we are.
It's Wednesday afternoon, Friday, I know the rest of my life.
[interviewer] How have you been making sense of this?
What have you been thinking about over the past--
[inhales deeply, sighs]
[clicks tongue, snorts] It's tough.
It's tough. [sniffles]
[clicks tongue, exhales deeply]
Very hard.
It's hard.
[stammers]
[exhales deeply]
I've-I've hit my-my... [stammers]
...my-my bottom.
I don't-- I don't know what to make of it.
I face it, you know?
I-I'm not gonna hide, or run away, or-- You know?
I accept whatever sentence I get.
Um, there's a reason for this.
There's a reason why this is happening.
Um, my life has always been a little different than most other lives.
You know, my upbringing was different. Winning Wimbledon at 17 was different.
[inhales deeply] The next 36, seven years since then has been different.
Uh, um, uh--
[interviewer] Um, I mean, I don't know what to say,
except to wish you the best of luck on Friday.
- Yep. Thank you. - [interviewer speaking indistinctly]
Friday, light a candle, will you?
[match striking]
[camera shutter clicks]
So that's the scene on Centre Court, and I'm delighted to say, joining me here,
first day, John McEnroe.
- We gotta savor every last day here. - [reporter laughing]
[crowd chattering]
[McEnroe] And I'm gonna keep it very short but sweet.
Boris. We love you. I miss you, man.
[Becker] Now I'm 54 years old, now, that's not the end yet.
There's gonna be another chapter.
[crowd applauding]
- [thuds] - [tennis player grunts]
[staff chattering]
Good morning.
- Good morning. - Good morning.
- Good morning, yes. Thank you. - [staff member] Have a good day, Boris.
- Thank you. - Enjoy the rest of the day.
Thank you.
[people chattering]
[Monteiro] You have to be vulnerable sometimes.
You have to admit your limits and mistakes.
Maybe it's an opportunity for him to close with his past,
that I think was haunting him for long, long time.
This is just the end of a long journey that started years ago.
[people chattering]
[Becker] My years.
It's all true what I'm saying, you know?
It really happened. It real-- [chuckles]
Always go left. Always go left.
[crowd applauding]
[in German] This is where it all started.
[chuckling]
[Tiriac, in English] Boris Becker was born that day in London.
And then, from that day, Germany adopted him.
[in German] It's nice here, right?
I mean, ultimately,
I know this sounds very poetic, but this is where I was born.
That's why we are making this movie and talk about Wimbledon
and the whole thing because this is where it all started.
If I hadn't turned that match around back then,
everything would've happened differently.
I was not mature enough at that point
for many things that I was hit with afterwards.
Everything was very strict and serious back then,
and that's why I said I would've liked a few more years.
[Becker, in English] You know, you can tell me,
"You could have had it easier.
You could have agreed to this, and, uh, sugarcoated that..." [stammers]
...but that's not me.
Nobody told me to win Wimbledon at 17, I just did it.
So this is part of my DNA, and I'm proud of it.
This is who I am.
[laughing]
["Lawyers, Guns and Money" playing]