Boris Becker says fellow inmate tried to kill him: ‘I was shaking so bad’
Boris Becker faces deportation after early release from UK prison
Boris Becker claims that an inmate “tried to kill” him while he was serving time at Britain’s Wandsworth prison for
illicitly transferring huge sums of money and hiding assets after declaring bankruptcy.
The six-time major champion and tennis Hall of Famer
made the stunning revelation in an interview with German broadcaster Sat 1 that aired on Tuesday.
Becker, 55, said that an inmate named John was apparently unhappy that he’d made friends with black inmates. Becker also claimed the fellow prisoner tried to sexually assault him.
“I was shaking so bad,” Becker said when recalling the incident. “I shouted loudly and immediately the inmates came out and threatened him.”
Becker said that a group of about 10 inmates, most of them black, interjected and prevented him from being harmed.
Boris Becker and girlfriend Lilian de Carvalho MonteiroDeFodi Images via Getty Images
“He was dangerous,” Becker said. “He couldn’t understand why I was so connected with black prisoners.”
Becker was found guilty in April on four charges relating to his 2017 bankruptcy case under the Insolvency Act. In May, the three-time Wimbledon champ was transferred to the lower level HMP Huntercombe prison, where a second prisoner wanted to kill him, Becker claimed in the interview, his first since being released after serving eight months of a 2 ½-year sentence.
Becker said that prison officials tried to help acclimate him to the surroundings by assigning him to a single cell and having three inmates provide guidance on the ways of the prison. But Becker said his struggles extended beyond fearing violence.
Boris Becker kisses the winner’s trophy to celebrate his Wimbledon title at age 17 in 1985.Getty Images
“I felt hunger for the first time in my life,” said Becker, who at age 17 in 1985 became the first unseeded player to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon.
Still, there were other moments that Becker said he appreciated. In November, inmates managed to arrange for three chocolate cakes for his birthday, he said.
Deported back to Germany last week
following his release, Becker said it’s unlikely that he and his partner, Lilian De Carvalho Monteiro, will stay in the country and instead relocate to possibly Miami or Dubai. Becker, who was recently
dumped from BBC’s Wimbledon coverage, also said he hopes to learn from his past mistakes.
“It’s up to me to keep going down that path and stay true to myself,” he said. “I believe prison was good for me.”