Mr. Becker at his lowest point

The hunt is on. With the verdict of two and a half years in prison, of which Boris Becker will probably have to serve half, the freshly sharpened knife of the guillotine, which was once invented by the French doctor Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, is coming down on the head of the German tennis legend. Seen figuratively, because now, it seems, there are no more taboos. The life of one of the biggest sports stars in Germany is now mercilessly scrutinized and openly presented in a way that quickly exceeds the boundaries of good taste. Nothing, truly nothing, is sacred anymore in the belief that all of Boris Becker's so-called fans should now have the right to finally be able to understand his career completely unvarnished.

Boris Becker (right) with his partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro. © AFP / ADRIAN DENNIS

The verdict in London literally tears the three-time Wimbledon winner's personal protection away. The question may be asked: By what right? Because he made mistakes, especially when dealing with his huge financial resources? Or because he allegedly showed no humility according to the judge who sentenced him to prison? Because he didn't crawl to the cross? It may be that his line of defense, which sees him more as a victim than as a perpetrator because he supposedly never opened an account himself and was probably completely clueless about money matters and left everything to his so-called advisors, triggers too much of a feeling of pity. But that alone shouldn't mean that his sporting achievements are almost completely pushed into the background. Does it have to be that way? All former companions, on the other hand, are now being dragged into the public eye once again. So does this matter now? Is this supposed to suggest that one relationship or another gradually initiated Becker's decline? So does that have to be the case? No. It would be much nicer, but it's certainly naive at this moment to remember his big games. Every day that he has to sit in prison, warming up to a big match again would do him justice. But that won't happen, because the tragedy of human nature is that envy of success doesn't seem to be repressed. And that you wait for the lucky guy to finally sink to the ground.

With Boris Becker, life has almost always meant well. Victories at a young age, prize money and advertising income on a scale that was probably unimaginable even for him, propelled him to the highest levels in society. Becker was in demand. I still remember being asked about the squatter scene in Hamburg after his first Wimbledon victory in 1985. What is a 17 year old supposed to say? Suddenly, and he probably never liked it, he was a public figure. A modern Siegfried, as the Frankfurt sociologist Henning Hase once said, who considers top athletes to be the heroic figures of our society. And heroes, of course, can fall sometimes.

With Becker, the current situation may also include the fact that although he was very present on the outside, deep down he wanted to remain more intimate and withdrawn. But he never succeeded. Becker has somehow always reinvented himself, as if he wanted to change his skin every now and then. He fired coaches, managers and even wives. He was the Davis Cup boss and owned car dealerships with the star as their trademark. He lived in Monte Carlo, Munich, Miami and most recently in London. Becker was unrest personified. It was only in the last few years that he got closer to his sport again, also because he was given a platform on the TV channel Eurosport that took him back to his roots. He enjoyed that. Away from the boulevard and back to where it all began and what his life was always supposed to be. Becker will get up again He made up ground. He remains reserved and fair in his analyses. He keeps his distance because he basically always wants to keep his distance. He's not on a first-name basis. If you don't know him, you should address him as "Mr. Becker", which isn't a problem. But because he has never been so comfortable and well-adjusted, and perhaps because his life is not comparable to the life of a normal citizen, whatever you mean by that, his deep fall celebrates voyeurism and takes it to new heights. But Becker will hopefully survive this phase with his stay in prison as the absolute lowest point, like many things in the past. The “Beckerfaust” and the “Beckerhecht” have long been firmly anchored in our language. The namesake is not just history. He still has a future too.

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Mr. Becker at his lowest point

The reporting on the deep fall of tennis legend Boris Becker gives our columnist Sigi Heinrich something to think about. He tries in his own way to describe the phenomenon surrounding Becker and is sure that the Wimbledon winner will get back on his feet.

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