Boris Becker

The former tennis world number one said the nights in Wandsworth Prison -- not far from where he won the Wimbledon title three times -- were "atrocious."

"So I gave the names -- but the governor said: 'Jurgen is not allowed to visit you, he is too well known. "I don't think it will be Germany. The loneliest moment I've had in my life," he said. Becker said he had to cope with the lack of food as prison fare was largely restricted to rice, potatoes and sauce. "The nights were atrocious. I don't know if I'll stay in Europe -- perhaps Miami. there were murderers, child abusers, drug dealers, every kind of criminal you can imagine". "When the cell door closes, then there is nothing left. "We needed each other." "I could have rejected it. "Of course I was guilty," he said of the four out of 29 counts he was convicted on. He threw himself down to the ground and begged me for forgiveness.

Three-time Wimbledon champion says prison experience left him 'shrewder and humbler', in German TV interview after deportation.

“Sometimes I even forgot to pick up my prize money.” After his sporting career was over, he had made the mistake of “wanting to live as I had before. He said he would not have survived had it not been for the support of his four children or his girlfriend, Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro. “I was never in it for the money,” he said. Addressing his financial issues and the crime of hiding his assets, Becker said he had failed to pay enough attention to money matters ever since he had begun earning from his tennis as a teenager in the 1980s. He said he spent every day in the three weeks between a jury finding him guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act, and his sentencing, visiting a church near his home in Knightsbridge where he prayed for a short jail term. Only twice did he mention his status as a tennis icon and the effect it may have had on his experience. He broke down again when he described his gratitude at getting a three-page letter from his rival and compatriot Michael Stich, who famously beat him in straight sets in the Wimbledon final of 1991. It added: “They are glad to get rid of any of the foreign prisoners they can by deporting them”. Had they known him it might have had an influence on their decision, he believed. A request by his former coach and agent Ion Tiriac was turned down three times for similar reasons, he said. He described experiencing a “sense of camaraderie like never before. They had intervened after an altercation with a fellow inmate, a convicted murderer, who Becker said had threatened to kill him.

Tennis great Boris Becker tearfully recounted the two separate threats on his life during his eight months ...

"I believe prison was good for me." He had tried it with others". That included coping with the lack of food, Becker said, as prison fare was largely restricted to rice, potatoes and sauce. "Of course I was guilty," he said of the four out of 29 counts he was convicted on. Becker would normally have had to serve half of his sentence before being eligible for release, but was released early under a fast-track deportation program for foreign nationals. We really supported each other." We needed each other. It sounds strange, you are so dependent on each other. Becker, who was deported to his native Germany on Dec. "Prison is a different world," he added. The three-time Wimbledon champion said that a prisoner in Wandsworth Prison called John had said that "if I didn't do this or that he would kill me. "I felt hunger for the first time in my life," said Becker, who won the first of many millions of dollars as a player at the age of 17.

'Threatened with being killed': Wimbledon champion reveals prison nightmare.

Now a humbled and weeping Becker admitted that behind bars “nobody gives a f*** who you are” as he was allocated the more humdrum number A2923EV. “There was no alcohol, there was moonshine but it was much too strong and dangerous. “First I told her that I was alive and that I was doing well. “I am quite good friends with Jürgen Klopp and he wanted to come and visit me. “You are only a number. John McEnroe said at Wimbledon this year: “Boris, we love you. What did the prisoner do in front of or behind me? And nobody gives a f*** who you are.” Prison certainly helped my health”. “I read every single letter. I said there was no danger, I lied of course,” he said. He had tried it with others”.

Former tennis icon Boris Becker held his first interview since being released from prison in the UK, as he was deported back to his homeland Germany.

"I wanted to look cool, so I had a hoodie, to look like a gangster for protection and a baseball cap,” Becker said. After spending eight months at HMP Huntercombe, Becker admitted that he learned a “hard lesson” before returning to Germany with his family. “They came at half past seven, unlocked themselves and asked, 'Are you ready?' I said: 'Let's go!' I had already packed everything." Upon his arrival at the prison, Becker admitted that he wanted to “look like a gangster” after taking several items with him in an attempt to boost his popularity at the facility. “When the cell door is slammed shut at 8.00pm, no one told me when it would open again and that's when your whole world collapses and you are alone with your thoughts. But, in the end, the next day he fell to his knees in front of me, apologised and kissed my hand and said he respected me. “Someone - a murderer I later found out - wanted my coat and he wanted money and he said he would kill me if he didn't get it. The first time Lilian [Becker’s girlfriend] came she said she was shocked at how I looked, although she only told me that later.” It was extremely dangerous and extremely dirty. I had two big concerns, one was a double cell, sharing a cell with someone who could attack you or threaten you and then the shower cubicles. [Wimbledon](/latest/wimbledon) champion over the years, but Becker revealed that the coach was unable to visit him due to safety concerns. Becker admitted that he thought he would have been killed in prison, as he claimed that several murderers told him that they were going to harm the tennis icon.

The retired tennis champion was released from HM Huntercombe last week and deported back to his home of Germany, and the Liverpool boss has now invited his long ...

We then spent a sensational evening in Wimbledon - we were on the same wavelength and had a lot of fun. The Liverpool boss has now shared his version of events, revealing that it was deemed a "security risk" for him to visit the former world No 1 in HM Huntercombe Prison, leaving them only able to communicate via phonecalls. Klopp also shared the contents of his phone calls with the three-time Wimbledon champion, explaining why it was important for him to keep supporting Becker during his time behind bars. The Liverpool manager is now hoping to see Becker at a game soon, though that could prove tough following reports that part of the German's terms of release do not allow him to return to Britain for ten years. "Boris is the great idol of my childhood and youth. The retired tennis champion was released from HM Huntercombe last week and deported back to his home of Germany, and the Liverpool boss has now invited his long-time friend to a Liverpool game after they were stopped from seeing each other.

An emotional three-time former Wimbledon champion gave an interview to German network Sat TV, days after he was released from a UK prison after serving eight ...

"I wasn't called Boris. I was a number. "You're nobody in prison," he continued. I wanted to look cool, to do a bit of a gangster. "You're just a number. I made the mistake of only taking black stuff with me.

Where do you think Boris Becker ranks among the greats of men's tennis? Let us know in the comments section. "Unfortunately I couldn't visit him because according to the authorities I would have been a security risk if ...

"If Boris then wants to see a good football game, he's welcome to do so in Liverpool. [granted release from his UK imprisonment](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/tennis/breaking-boris-becker-freed-jail-28739051) on December 15 after serving eight months of a two-and-a-half-year sentence for tax evasion-related charges. He owed creditors more than £50m at the time, which included more than £3m from an unpaid loan on his Majorca estate. Although he tends to support other clubs." that no one believes what it's really like here,'" explained Klopp regarding his recommendation that Becker pens a new biography. In a recent "It was just particularly important to me to support Boris and to tell him that we won't let him down." But that’s no longer important either – what matters is that Boris is free again." And Klopp has since verified those claims, explaining that their communications were limited to phone calls during his confinement. "That's why it didn't work. [Bild](https://www.bild.de/sport/mehr-sport/tennis/juergen-klopp-verraet-daum-durfte-ich-boris-becker-nicht-im-gefaengnis-besuchen-82327274.bild.html). [appeared in a television interview](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/tennis/boris-becker-prison-interview-tennis-28781001) and said his 'good friend' was [prevented from paying him a visit](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/tennis/boris-becker-jurgen-klopp-liverpool-28783291).