BERLIN, 8 Apr. (dpa/EP) –
German tennis player Boris Becker considers himself “a better and stronger man” after being released from jail, after being “humiliated” by his conviction for concealment of assets last year.
Becker, a six-time singles ‘Grand Slam’ champion, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison last April, after being found guilty of concealing assets and loans worth 2.5 million pounds -2.8 million euros – to avoid paying debts when he filed for bankruptcy in 2017. The German was released after serving eight months of his sentence in December and was subsequently deported from the UK.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Becker said he had learned valuable lessons from his time under pressure, where his legendary tennis achievements counted for nothing. “Whoever says that prison life is not hard and difficult, I think they are lying. I was surrounded by murderers, drug dealers, rapists, human traffickers…dangerous criminals,” Becker said.
“You fight every day to survive. You quickly have to surround yourself with the tough guys, as I would call it, because you need protection. If you think you are better than others, you lose. It doesn’t matter that I was a tennis player. The only currency we have inside is our character and our personality. That’s it, you don’t have anything else. At the beginning you don’t have any friends, you are literally alone, and that is the most difficult thing. You have to inquire within yourself about your qualities and your strengths, but also about your weak points,” he continued.
Becker, previously a regular on the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage, will not be able to return to the UK until October 2024. Having worked as a commentator with Eurosport for Germany at the Australian Open earlier this year, Becker is eager to rebuild his reputation.
“I’m usually good in the fifth set: I’ve won the first two, I’ve lost the next two and I’m going to win it. It certainly made me more humble, it made me realize that whether you’re called Boris Becker or Paul Smith, if you breach the law, they condemn you and imprison you, that goes for everyone. I never expected the good and of course I did not expect the bad, but I am a survivor, I am a tough nut to crack, “he said.
“I have endured the pain, I have endured imprisonment, but I have also endured the glory and, if anything, this has made me a better and stronger man. With my decisions in the future it will be seen if I have learned from it or not” , ended.