Boris Becker: This is how he will continue after his imprisonment

Tennis legend Boris Becker (55) was released from custody in England after a good seven months on December 15, 2022 and flown to Stuttgart at his own request.

Boris Becker: This is how he will continue after his imprisonment

Tennis legend Boris Becker (55) was released from custody in England after a good seven months on December 15, 2022 and flown to Stuttgart at his own request. In an interview with Steven Gätjen (50), which was broadcast as "Sat.1 Spezial. Boris Becker" on Tuesday (December 20, available on Joyn), he revealed, among other things, a few details about his future plans - in which many children appear.

He gave a first indication of the new, refined Becker on the show when he explained why he wanted to be flown to the Baden-Württemberg metropolis of all places. "The German public said I'd end up in Munich or Frankfurt because I'm at home and have lived in both cities." But because he values ​​his privacy now and is more careful, he decided to go to Stuttgart. "I didn't want to be free in a hustle and bustle and in front of photographers. And we succeeded," says Becker.

He also managed to rediscover his qualities as a sports professional. "I think that jail time brought me back." During the months in prison, he thought a lot and saw his mistakes. He had become "lazy", "comfortable" and "fat", so his conclusion. Then he rediscovered himself as a tennis player, "because I must have thought like that at the time: just live in the moment, be very disciplined, very ascetic and set priorities, what can I do and what should I leave alone - I tried all that, to rediscover and internalize. Now my task is not to leave this path anymore", he sets the direction for the future.

Becker was vague as to where this new path with the reactivated character traits will lead him. "I have ideas, but I've become cautious about what I say about the future," said the former sports professional and advertising star. "Leave me the Christmas season. I'd be happy to come back to you in the studio," he promised Gätjen.

After all, he explained which rules apply to his "second chance": "I can only spend what I earn," said Becker. And he added: "I'm 55 years old and I've learned something: that I have to be much more careful with my so-called 'advisers and good friends'. Until I understand it, I won't sign any more contracts."

According to Becker, in 2012 he noticed that the money was not enough and he had borrowed money from the bank. "That's over now and that means for the first time I can think about what I'm going to do with the rest of my life: where do I live? Where do I want to grow old? I'm 55, I want to have 25 good years ahead of me - hopefully with my great love Lilian," he said. After all, he let so much be elicited about the living situation: “I honestly can’t tell you where I’m going now. I don’t think so in Germany because I value my private life and my privacy above all else. And I don’t think I can do it here ."

He continued: "I don't know if I'll stay in Europe, if I'll go to Miami [Florida, ed.], where I lived for a long time." But he is also "a fan of Dubai - I also spend time here and there". At the moment he cannot say where he will go. "But that I can think about it at all, and that I can earn my own money again, and that at some point I can buy an apartment again, or buy a car... that wasn't possible for years," he explained.

The tennis legend may return to the red carpet at the upcoming Berlinale. At the film festival from February 16 to 26, 2023, director Alex Gibney (69, Oscar for "Taxi to Hell") will present his Boris Becker documentary, as the festival management announced on Tuesday (December 20). However, the press release did not reveal whether the star was also invited to the premiere. The streaming service Apple TV had announced the two-parter about Becker. According to the announcement, "all aspects of the man" should be examined, who was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for delaying bankruptcy in Great Britain.

Becker granted exclusive access to his private life before his sentence. On the one hand, the documentary should highlight Becker's successful career, who won Wimbledon at the age of only 17 and has won 49 titles, including six Grand Slams and an Olympic gold medal. On the other hand, it will also be about Becker's "sometimes turbulent private life", the announcement said.

When asked where he sees himself in ten or twenty years, Becker said again, fighting back tears: "Surrounded by my children, I hope there will be a few more, I am a family man and my children are love of my life." He currently has four children with three former partners.

Speaking of which, he wishes to be able to spend the rest of his life with his "great love Lilian" in peace, freedom and happiness. Becker kept a low profile as to whether Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro could become his third wife. He only revealed so much: "She told me that I was not allowed to say anything about our private life and our plans [...]. I hope forever and ever."

Presumably he also means her, among other things, when he raves about the "wonderful people" who above all don't want to be in the press, who don't need publicity, who appreciate me as a person, who perhaps also appreciate me as a reasonably intelligent, experienced man want to get to know and benefit from me". He has created this new circle of people, the new environment "since 2017, since my bankruptcy and the end of my marriage to Sharlely in autumn 2017". The prison sentence was the last step, but the change happened in 2017.

Whatever the future may bring, Boris Becker is confident about the future. "I'm happy, I'm motivated. I have to work. I'm grateful that all my partners stayed with me, that they gave me a second chance," he said happily.

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