Boris Becker: Tennis great says inmate tried to kill him while he was in UK jail

CNN
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Boris Becker said an inmate “tried to kill him” during the tennis great’s incarceration in a British prison during an interview broadcast on Tuesday by German broadcaster Sat 1.

The Huntercombe prison inmate, whom Becker calls John, had been in jail for more than 16 years, for killing two people when he was 18.

Becker claimed that John was unhappy with the German’s friendship with black inmates and on one occasion threatened to sexually assault him. John had verbally explained what physical harm he would do to her.

“I was shaking so much,” Becker said as he recalled the confrontation. “I screamed very loudly and immediately the inmates came out and threatened him,” the 55-year-old former tennis star added.

According to Becker, a group of about 10 prisoners, mostly black, came to the intervention and protected him when he cried out for help. The prisoners arrived and told John to leave immediately or he would be beaten.

“He was dangerous. He couldn’t understand why I was so close to black prisoners,” Becker said.

“The prison world is a little different,” Becker added, describing how John then “asked her for forgiveness” and an opportunity to reconcile. “I hugged him and told him I had a lot of respect for him.”

In April, Becker was found guilty of four counts relating to his 2017 bankruptcy case under insolvency law and was sentenced by Judge Deborah Taylor of Southwark Crown Court to two years and a half in April.

In Wandsworth prison in London, where Becker spent the first weeks after his conviction, the 55-year-old said a fellow prisoner tried to blackmail him and “wanted my money”.

Once again, he claims that fellow prisoners had protected him from any physical harm.

The UK Prison and Probation Service did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Becker also revealed several prominent friends – including Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp – who wanted to visit him in prison.

“I am quite friends with Jürgen Klopp,” said Becker, who was told by prison authorities that the Liverpool manager “is not allowed to visit you because he is too well known. We fear for his safety and we don’t want hype.

Liverpool did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

The former world number one. 1 male tennis player is now in Germany after serving eight months in prison.

“In prison, you are nobody. You are just a number. Mine was A2923EV. Becker said Steven Gätjen of German broadcaster Sat 1, according to tabloid Bild.

“And they don’t give a damn who you are,” added Becker, who was originally scheduled to serve half his sentence in prison.

“I think I rediscovered the person in me that I once was,” Becker told Gätjen.

“I learned a hard lesson, very expensive, very painful. But it all taught me something important and good. And some things happen for a reason,” Becker added.

The time spent in prison made Becker “really a reflection of his life,” Gätjen said. You have to realize it: Boris Becker has been in the spotlight since the age of 17.

And then suddenly he’s locked up, can’t go out, only gets two visits a month, has to adapt to a strict prison system. I really had the impression that this experience had really marked him.

Becker spent his first weeks behind bars at Wandsworth. Becker told Gätjen that he was “very afraid to end up in a collective cell”.

According to Gätjen, Becker was alone for the “first four days without contact with the outside world and was locked in his cell 24 hours a day, with one hour out per day”.

The German made tennis history by winning Wimbledon aged 17 in 1985 and won five more Grand Slam titles over the next 11 years.

He has remained active in the world of tennis since his return from the sport, including coaching Novak Djokovic and through frequent media appearances as a commentator and pundit.

During Becker’s trial in April, the six-time Grand Slam champion was accused of “gambling the system in bad faith” by concealing and transferring assets, and deprived creditors of more than £2million (2, $51 million) in assets.

Becker has previously denied all charges, saying he cooperated in bankruptcy proceedings, according to Reuters.