He started out as an unlikely pauper, an to-1 shot on the path to that first Wimbledon title. He might not have gotten past the fourth round if not for the good nature of Tim Mayotte, who waited patiently while Becker, trailing in the match, received treatment for a twisted ankle.
Becker wanted to quit, but his manager, Ion Tiriac, talked him out of it, and Mayotte sportingly permitted Boris more than a usual break to recover. Becker won in five sets. Next, Swede Joakim Nystrom had served for the match twice in the third round. Henri Leconte was close to a two-set lead in the quarters, and another Swede, Jarryd, held a set and a set point in the second set of the semis. Didn't matter. Boris wore a halo. Boris Franz Becker, a right-hander, was born Nov.
The two sometimes practiced together. A promising junior, he dropped out of high school to become a pro. An atypical European player, he prefers faster surfaces to his native clay. Want more information about Boris Becker? This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Keynote Speakers - Categories. Keynote Speakers - Topics. Contact us. My Shortlist. Keynote Speakers - Categories Find a speaker on current global trends.
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Big Data. Customer Experience. Cyber Security. Digital Trends. Emerging Markets. Future of Work. A few weeks before, Becker had almost been dumped out of an amateur tournament at Beckenham Cricket Club, 10 miles 16 kilometers southeast of Wimbledon, by world number Leighton Alfred. Though he did go on to win a pre-Wimbledon tournament at Queen's Club, it's fair to say that, despite his obvious promise, expectations were low.
His aggressive, athletic and powerful serve-and-volley style stood in contrast to American duo John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, who had taken the last four Wimbledon titles between them. But it blew away another American, Hank Pfister, in the first round. Pfister took the first set but had no answer once Becker hit his stride. He assumed wrong. Becker then disposed of qualifier Matt Anger, yet another American, dropping just four games in round two before facing a big step up in quality with a third-round match against Swedish seventh-seed Joakim Nystrom.
This one was not so easy, Becker eventually prevailing in the fifth set to keep the unlikely run alive. It was around this stage that the man in the shortest of shorts with a mop of strawberry-blonde hair started to capture the public imagination in SW19 and back home in West Germany.
His no-holds-barred attitude, exuberance and eagerness to get to the net to kill points as quickly as possible endeared him to the tennis-watching public, but still there was little sense that he could go all the way.
But, for a time, it looked like it was to be his own body that ended Becker's tournament rather than the man on the other side of the net. Midway through his match with Tim Mayotte, played shortly after that grueling five setter, Becker felt his ankle give way. But, up in the stands his manager was having none of it. A stern Romanian with a thick, horseshoe moustache known as the "Brasov Bulldozer," Ion Tiriac strode onto the grass to order his charge to take a medical time out.
It was becoming a habit. Becker moved into the quarterfinals with his side of the draw opening up, Swede Anders Jarryd was the only seed remaining. Becker was due to face him in the last four but first needed to beat talented Frenchman Henri Leconte, who had conquered Lendl in the previous round. Leconte's star was also on the rise. Weeks earlier, he had reached the same stage of his home tournament, but he had no answer to the momentum of Wimbledon's new darling, Becker again won in four sets.
On the other side of the draw, Curren had breezed past McEnroe in straight sets in the quarterfinal before repeating the trick against Connors in the semi. Unbelievably, he dropped just 13 combined games in his matches against the two favorites. But before Becker could have a crack at the man in form, he had Jarryd to deal with. The Swedish player took the first set and an early break in the second but the West German teenager never lost the faith that so often sustained him, roaring back to win in four sets in a match played over two days after rain interruptions.
The date was booked: July 7. Centre Court, Wimbledon. Becker arrived at Wimbledon ranked No. When Becker won, his celebrity in Germany reached frenetic heights. Sports Illustrated featured him on the July 15, cover with the headline, Das Wunderkind.
His major triumph in was most memorable, though he successfully defended his title in with a slick straight sets upset victory over No. The difference between the two years was considerable.
In , he rose to a No. Against No. His blistering serve produced 21 aces and he wore out the grass with his headlong dives at net — and on the baseline — playing half a set with a shirt soiled in dirt as a badge of effort.
His third and fourth round matches were monstrous five-set affairs, as was his semifinal victory over No. Becker began playing tennis at age 8 and occasionally practiced with compatriot and the biggest star in German tennis history, Steffi Graf.
He dropped out of school in the 10 th grade to train with the West German Tennis Federation. He had hefty, stinging, and powerful volleys, an accessory to his serve. Becker would try and crush his service return and go from defense to offense instantaneously.
A winning shot brought his trademark fist pump and Becker often energized himself by shouting encouragement that intensified his matches. The fast lawn at Wimbledon was made for his game. In a year span, he appeared as a finalist on Center Court seven times, winning his third title in , a convincing straight-set victory over Stefan Edberg , , , His semifinal victory over Lendl, , , , , , became a Wimbledon classic, played in 4 hours and 1 minute, the second longest semi in history.
Becker was a finalist in losing to Edberg , , , in Edberg, , , , , , in losing to Michael Stich , , , and in losing to Pete Sampras , , , , He compiled an impressive record at Wimbledon. Against Edberg, Becker led the head-to-head series , including three victories in the Davis Cup, but Edberg won three of four matches in major finals.
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