Boris Becker

BORN on November 22, 1967, in Leiman, West Germany, Boris Becker is a former World No 1 professional tennis player. He was introduced to the game at his father’s tennis centre in Leiman. He arrived into the professional tennis scene in 1984 and clinched his first doubles title in Munich that same year. In 1985, he became the first unseeded player as well as the first player from Germany to win the singles at Wimbledon. During that time, he was also the youngest ever male Grand Slam singles champion, with his age being 17 years, 227 days. In 1986, Becker defeated World No 1 Ivan Lendl in the Wimbledon final. Besides this, he played one of the longest matches ever in the 1986 Davis Cup – it was timed at 6 hours and 22 minutes! He defeated his opponent John McEnroe 4-6, 15- 13, 8-10, 6-2, 6-2. Becker was also instrumental in enabling West Germany to bag its first Davis Cup in 1988. In 1989, he was adjudged ‘Player of The Year’ by the ATP Tour; this was following his two Grand Slam victories that year. In a career spanning nearly 15 years, Becker has won 49 singles and 15 doubles titles, with six Grand Slam singles titles. He was included in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003..

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