Former German tennis player Boris Becker claims that he will be able to keep half of his income despite the bankruptcy proceedings underway against him in Great Britain, in statements made on the Amazon podcast “The Fifth Set” released today and hosted by journalist Johannes B. Kerner.
Kerner asked Becker where all the money he had made during his career was. “That question has worried me for three and a half years,” the 53-year-old former tennis player replied. Becker said that on the day of his bankruptcy he was a very rich man. And he added that, since then, he has already returned four times the 3.2 million euros ($ 3.9 million) he owed, plus interest, and that he “trusts” that the proceedings against him in 2017 will end soon.
He insisted that British insolvency law is very different from that of Germany. “Everyone who has been making smart statements for years has no idea what they are talking about,” he warned. However, he acknowledged that there is also a criminal proceeding pending against him, as he is accused of having made mistakes in his insolvency proceedings.
“In the criminal case, so far, I have had two hearings in which I was charged with 28 counts. I pleaded not guilty to all 28 counts. and we will give our explanation to the court until mid-February, “he said. Becker said he could not comment on the details, but noted that he and his lawyers are” optimistic “because he was not guilty of all 28 charges. But the three-time champion of Wimbledon said that if the two parties do not agree, the trial would take place in mid-September. Becker stressed that, even facing a very serious situation, he is treating her openly and is confident, as always.
Bob Brett, who trained him, passes away
Former Australian tennis coach Bob Brett died on Tuesday at the age of 67 from cancer, according to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) about one of the key figures in the history of this sport as a coach of true legends.
Brett was very influenced by the Davis Cup from his childhood. He was a ball boy for the Australian team in his youth, before moving to the United States at the age of 20 to work with Harry Hopman. – an eminence as a coach in his native country – at the Port Washington Tennis Academy on Long Island, in New York.
Brett worked with several of the best players of the era in the late 1970s and 1980s, including players such as Johan Kriek, Tim Mayotte and Mats Wilander, as well as his fellow Australians Peter McNamara and Paul McNamee. But his greatest achievements came in the three and a half years he managed German Boris Becker. When the pair joined in 1987, Becker was already a Wimbledon champion, but it was under Brett's leadership that he reached even greater heights. Becker won Wimbledon and the United States Open in 1989 and the Australian Open in 1991, which took him to the top of the world rankings for the first time in his career.
Brett moved on shortly after this win and soon began coaching Goran Ivanisevic, an association that saw the Croatian reach two Wimbledon finals and win nine ATP titles in four years.. Brett also enjoyed coaching successes with Andrei Medvedev, Nicolas Kiefer and Mario Ancic, before working with future US Open champion Marin Cilic for nine years.