Factbox: Six-times Grand Slam champion Boris Becker - Reuters - 3 minutes read




Former tennis player Boris Becker arrives with his partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro (not pictured) at Southwark Crown Court to face sentencing after being found guilty of four charges earlier this month, in London, Britain, April 29, 2022. REUTERS/John Sibley

April 29 (Reuters) - Factbox on German tennis great Boris Becker, who was jailed by a London court on Friday for hiding hundreds of thousands of pounds of assets after he was declared bankrupt read more :

* Started playing tennis at age eight at a local tennis centre his father, an architect, had founded.

* Occasionally practised with compatriot and later 22-times major winner Steffi Graf, eventually turning professional at age 16.

* Burst onto the international scene in 1985, beating Kevin Curren in the Wimbledon final to become the youngest-ever men's champion (17 years and 227 days) at the grasscourt major -- a record that still stands.

* Also became the first unseeded male player to win Wimbledon in the process, a feat since tied only by Goran Ivanisevic in 2001.

* Successfully defended his title in 1986, defeating world number one Ivan Lendl in straight sets in the final.

* Reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 1987, the first of three appearances in the last four at Roland Garros.

* Contested the Wimbledon final again in 1988 but lost to Stefan Edberg in a match that started one of the great rivalries of that era.

* Helped West Germany to the Davis Cup trophy later that year and also clinched the year-end Finals title, beating Lendl in five sets.

* Won two majors in 1989 -- overcoming Edberg in the Wimbledon final before getting the better of Lendl once again for his first triumph at the U.S. Open.

* Named ATP Player of the Year that season.

* Met Edberg for the third Wimbledon final in a row in 1990, losing in five sets.

* Reached his first Australian Open final in 1991, defeating old foe Lendl to claim the world number one ranking.

* Teamed up with Michael Stich to win the men's doubles gold at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

* Reached his seventh Wimbledon final in 1995, falling to Pete Sampras in four sets.

* Secured his sixth and final Grand Slam in 1996, beating Michael Chang in the Australian Open final.

* Retired from the sport in 1999.

* Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003.

* Played in professional poker tournaments after his retirement.

* Coached world number one Novak Djokovic between 2014 and 2016, guiding the Serbian to six Grand Slam titles.

* Declared bankrupt by the London High Court in 2017 in connection with a debt to private bankers Arbuthnot Latham & Co.

Compiled by Dhruv Munjal in Bengaluru Editing by Christian Radnedge

Source: Reuters

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