Boris Becker: All You Need to Know About The Six-time Grand Slam Champion

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:

  • Born: Nov. 22, 1967 in Leimen, Germany
  • Highest career singles ranking: 1 (Jan. 28, 1991)
  • Career singles titles: 49
  • Grand Slam titles: Six
  • Australian Open (1991, 1996), Wimbledon (1985, 1986, 1989), US Open (1989)

EARLY LIFE

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

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

Also Read: Becker Sentenced to Jail For Two And a Half Years

PROFESSIONAL CAREER

* 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 US 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.

OFF THE COURT

* 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.

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