Boris Becker: “I learned a hard lesson”

“You’re nobody in prison. you are just a number Mine was A2923EV. I wasn’t called Boris. And they don’t give a damn who you are.” That’s what three-time Wimbledon winner Boris Becker says after his almost eight-month prison stay in Great Britain, to which he was sentenced for concealing parts of his assets.

What were the worst moments for the 55-year-old in custody? What plans does Becker have after his release? The German answered these questions yesterday at prime time in an interview with moderator Steven Gätjen on Sat.1, for which Becker is said to have collected around 500,000 euros. One thing became clear at first glance at the ex-tennis star: Becker’s time in prison changed significantly – mentally and visually. He has lost weight, his face is more angular and he no longer wears his hair gray, but brunette. “I didn’t drink alcohol, didn’t smoke and ate little,” says the ex-tennis star. From a health point of view, the imprisonment was good for him.

Mentally, however, he suffered scars. In conversation with Gätjen, Becker is very emotional. In some places he fights back tears – including when he talks about the separation from his wife after the conviction. Nevertheless, Becker draws a positive balance of his imprisonment: “I have rediscovered the person in me that I once was. I learned a hard lesson, but it also taught me important and good things.”

The most important quotes:

Becker on his arrival in prison:

• “I looked at the ground a lot. Just don’t look at other knacki the wrong way.”
• “When the cell door closes, there’s nothing left. The loneliest moment I’ve had in my life.”
• “An inmate tried to kill me in Huntercombe Prison. He wanted to do my laundry, told me verbally what he was going to do to me. That was only in October. But he underestimated that I had a position in prison, that the other prisoners in the wing took notice and got out. A day later the man asked for forgiveness, threw himself on the floor in front of me and kissed my hand.”
• “Right from the start I got to know three prisoners, so-called “listeners”, prisoners who can listen and know their way around. I think they wanted to protect me. James, Russel and Bill saved my life.”
• “What you don’t want in jail is being noticed. For three weeks I wore only gray in detention.”

Boris Becker talks about his cell:

• “I had a small TV. Unfortunately, the ventilation hole in the cell was broken. This was my home. What we didn’t have in the cell was a mirror. Because you can break the mirror and use it as a weapon.”
• “I had a big concern, which was getting a double cell. The cell neighbor can attack or threaten you.

About the prison:

• “Extremely dirty. Extremely dangerous. You meet everyone there – criminals, murderers, child molesters.”
• “I will remain connected to some of the prisoners forever. We needed each other and supported each other in prison, that brings us together.”

Moved to tears, Becker recounts:

• “Michael Stich wrote me a three-page letter – as did Jürgen Klopp and Johannes B. Kerner – and many other people from whom I would not have expected it.”

author

Ulrike Griessl

Editor of Life and Health

u.griessl@nachrichten.at

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