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6 Grand Slam titles, the first of which was at the young age of 17. Boris Franz Becker, the son of an architect, began learning the sport at a tennis centre his father set up in what was then West Germany.
Although he had displayed an ability for tennis even as a youngster, winning his first won the title at the Queen’s Club in London - one of the most prestigious grass-court tournaments in tennis, and one of the oldest, he would set multiple records soon after.
Two weeks after the Queen’s Club title, an unseeded Becker would burst onto the international tennis scene, taking victory over former World No. 5 Kevin Curren. At 17, Becker became the youngest ever Grand Slam winner in history, and held that record for three years.
Two months after his first Wimbledon victory, Becker took the title at the Cincinnati Open - and in the process became the youngest ever winner of that title.
Neither Becker nor his family had intended for him to become a tennis player, with the German ace telling Cambridge University in an interview that his father had intended for him to get a degree and a ‘regular job’.
Considering he’d go on to become the world’s top-ranked player, it was a sound decision.
The following year, in 1986, Becker defended his Wimbledon title against the top-ranked player, Ivan Lendl and in 1987 played fiery American John McEnroe in what remains one of the longest tennis matches in history, at the Germany-USA Davis Cup tie.
Over the course of his career, Becker became known for the accuracy of his quick serves, and was acknowledged by contemporaries - among them fellow World No. 1 Pete Sampras, as being one of the greatest tennis players of all time. His serves also earned him the nickname ‘Boom Boom Becker’ and ‘Der Bomber’.
1988 saw Becker in the finals of Wimbledon yet again, and heralded the beginning of one of tennis’ best rivalries. Becker would face off against Swedish ace Stefan Edberg, who took him to four sets as he took victory over the German.
The pair would play three successive Wimbledon finals, with Edberg winning three of those, although it was the German who led the Swede in their head-to-head competition, and by a staggering 25-10 margin.
It would not be until 1991 that Becker gained the world no.1 ranking, storming to the first Australian Open final of his career and eventually defeating Czech Ivan Lendl to reach top spot. Although he achieved top spot, Becker was unable to end the year at that ranking. He faced, and lost to, compatriot Michael Stich at the finals of the Championships that year.
Despite this, 1992 was a good year for Der Bomber, who that year took seven World Tour titles - but he would soon see his career spiral.
Stich and Becker did team up to earn Germany Olympic gold, however, with the pair taking top prize at the men’s doubles in Spain at the 1992 Olympic Games, Barcelona.
A quarterfinal crash-out in 1997 at Wimbledon, Becker’s favourite stomping ground, led the mercurial German to declare he would never play there again; although he would renege on his own promise and play in 1999, he crashed out then in the 4th round to former World No.1 Pat Rafter of Australia.
But despite what seemed like a career on the decline, Becker had amassed 49 singles titles - and he was no slouch at doubles either, with 15 titles, although none of these was a Grand Slam.
He was among several players known to be emotional on court; the other, his rival John McEnroe, was known more for lashing out at his fellow players and umpires.
He retired at the age of 32, having in his own words “won so much by 22, a number of Wimbledon titles, US Open, Davis Cup, World number one. You look for the next big thing and that isn't in tennis." [Cambridge Interview]
Following this, he took on a commentating role with the BBC, a role he held for a decade. Interestingly, Becker is also on the advisory board of German football club Bayern Munich.
Most recently, Becker has taken on the role of head coach for World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, while his longtime rival Edberg, who had been coaching former No. 1 and iconic Djokovic rival Roger Federer, recently stepped down from his own coaching role.
As coach of Novak Djokovic, Becker has managed to impart his big-match temperament and coaching nous to the Serbian during what has been the best phase of his career as he has won 6 of the 8 Grand Slams in the last 2 years.
Funnily enough, Federer has said he may never have played tennis if it had not been for the Becker-Edberg rivalry.
Not only did Becker show the world his own immense talent, he has been responsible for some of the best tennis in the modern day - directly or indirectly, and this adds to why he is known as one of the biggest icons of the game.
