Tennis great Boris Becker has tearfully recounted the moment the door of his single-occupancy cell at Britain’s notorious Wandsworth prison closed for the first time.
“It was the loneliest moment I’ve ever had in life,” Becker said in an interview with German broadcaster SAT.1, recalling how hours earlier he had been unable to say farewell to his loved ones before being led downstairs to the courtroom jail.
The two-time Australian Open champion was sentenced to 30 months in prison in April for illicitly transferring large amounts of money and hiding assets after he was declared bankrupt.
Becker would normally have had to serve half of his sentence before being eligible for parole, but was released early under a fast-track deportation program for foreign nationals.
The 55-year-old, who was deported to his native Germany on December 15, said he prayed daily in the three weeks between his conviction and sentencing, conscious there was a chance he might not get away with a suspended sentence.
Becker said prison authorities appeared to have tried to ensure his safety, allocating him a single cell and getting three experienced inmates – or “listeners” – to guide him in his new life behind bars.
Violence was a problem, he said, recounting instances when inmates threatened to harm him until others stepped in.
In November, fellow prisoners organised several cakes for his birthday, the six-time grand slam champion said.
“I’ve never experienced such solidarity in the free world,” he said, adding he planned to stay in touch with some of the people he met in prison.
For Becker, who rose to stardom in 1985 at age 17 when he became the first unseeded player to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon, the prison sentence was a heavy blow.
Asked about the judge’s statement that Becker had shown “no humility”, he acknowledged in the interview, “Maybe I should have (been) even more clear, more emotional.”
“Of course I was guilty,” he said of the four out of 29 counts he was convicted on.
After retiring from professional tennis in 1999, Becker worked as a coach – including for Novak Djokovic – and television pundit while also engaging in a wide range of investments and celebrity poker games.
“For years I made mistakes, I had false friends,” he said. “This time in prison brought me back.”
Andy Murray has been working hard with coach Ivan Lendl as he prepares for next month’s Australian Open, but the three-time grand slam champion concedes he is just one major injury from retirement.
Murray – who has reached the final at Melbourne Park on five occasions but never managed to win the AO – underwent hip surgeries in 2018 and 2019, leaving him on the sidelines for much of the last four years.
However, the Scot returned to the top 50 of the world rankings after making two tour-level finals in 2022, while his run to the third round of the US Open represented his joint-best grand slam campaign since Wimbledon in 2017.
He has been training with Lendl – himself a two-time Australian Open winner – in a bid to ensure he enters next month’s season-opening grand slam event in peak condition.
Murray, who finished runner-up at this year’s Sydney Classic, has missed three of the last five editions of the tournament.
“I spent three weeks in Florida, getting my body right and getting some work done on my game and it went really well,” he said.
“I’m certainly in better shape than I was. A lot of work was done in the gym, trying to build up my endurance and my stamina a bit and I’m hoping that’s going to help me next year.
“I wasn’t happy with how last season went – certainly the last six months or so from a physical perspective – but my ranking still went from 125 to 50 in a year.
“I’m hoping that this year, with the work I’ve done, things will continue to improve and I’ll still be motivated to get out there and compete.”
Former world No.1 Murray, who has two Wimbledon singles titles and a US Open to his name, saw rival Roger Federer retire from the sport in September after struggling with a knee injury, and while he acknowledges fitness concerns could force his hand, he is not yet looking to follow suit.
“If my body is in good shape and I’m still able to compete consistently, I’ll keep playing,” he said.
“But I can’t look so far in advance with the age I’m at and with the issues I’ve had.
“If I was to have a big injury, I probably wouldn’t try to come back from that.”
Murray was recently named the 2022 Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award recipient in recognition of his support for the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
Rising star Olivia Gadecki will make her eagerly awaited Australian Open debut after being one of six locals awarded a wildcard into their home grand slam.
Alexei Popyrin, Jason Kubler, Rinky Hijikata, Storm Hunter and Talia Gibson will also compete in Melbourne with wildcards.
Gadecki announced herself on the big stage in 2021 when she upset then-defending Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin at the Phillip Island Trophy at Melbourne Park.
Mentored by retired champion Ash Barty, Gadecki sat out last year’s Open after declining to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
But the 20-year-old will no doubt draw a crowd when she makes her main-draw debut at the AO – which runs from January 16-29 – after impressive gains on the ITF circuit in 2022.
Gadecki reached three consecutive finals on the Australian Pro Tour early in the year and in June won two rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw at the WTA event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.
The Queenslander reached the semi-finals in her last event of the year in Sydney to close the season with an impressive 37-18 win-loss record.
While Popyrin has already twice reached the third round of the Australian Open, the other five wildcard entrants are seeking their first singles wins at their home major.
Hunter (nee Sanders) came extremely close in 2022 when she led Aryna Sabalenka by a set and a break at Rod Laver Arena before the No.2 seed lifted to win in three sets.
That was just the beginning of a memorable year for Hunter, who won three doubles titles and capped the season by winning three of four singles rubbers for Australia at the Billie Jean King Cup finals.
Hijikata energised the night-time Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd when he took the opening set off Rafael Nadal at the US Open in September.
The Spanish legend went on to triumph in four sets, but it was nevertheless an impressive grand slam debut for 21-year-old Hijikata, who this season slashed his ranking from world No.375 to 64th.
He did so by winning more than 50 matches and reaching four finals on the lower-tier Futures and Challenger circuits.
Fellow young-gun Gibson will be making her major debut at AO 2023, and like Hijikata won 50 matches on the secondary ITF circuit.
The 18-year-old, who was named Junior Female Athlete of the Year at the recent Newcombe Medal Australian Tennis Awards, began 2022 well outside the top 1000 but has soared to a high-mark of world No. 342.
Kubler enjoyed a phenomenal comeback season, including his first trip to the second week of a major, which he achieved at Wimbledon after coming through the qualifying rounds. He also reached the second round at Roland Garros and the US Open.
© AAP
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