BERLIN – Freshly released from prison for bankruptcy offenses, tennis great Boris Becker is back in the limelight.
The three-time Wimbledon champion was deported to his native Germany last week after serving eight months of a 2 1/2 year prison sentence in the UK.
The German broadcaster SAT.1 was scheduled to broadcast the first interview with Becker since his dismissal on Tuesday evening. The TV station quoted the 55-year-old as saying his time in prison taught him “a hard lesson, a very expensive one, a very painful one”.
Meanwhile, organizers of the annual Berlin Film Festival said next year’s episode will feature the premiere of an as yet untitled documentary about Becker by Oscar winner Alex Gibney.
Organizers of the February 16-26 Berlinale said Gibney had previously chased after Becker his April sentencing for illegally transferring large amounts of money and concealing assets after he was declared bankrupt.
Becker, who rose to stardom in 1985 aged 17 when he became the first unseeded player to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon, said during his trial that payments for an “expensive divorce” and debt had eaten up his career earnings.
After retiring from professional tennis in 1999, the six-time Grand Slam champion worked as a coach and television pundit while also being involved in a variety of investments and celebrity poker games.
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