After finishing in Portugal, Boris Becker will be playing for the second time in the Davis Cup (Fri, live from 3am on DAZN) in Brisbane, Australia, as head of the German men’s tennis team. In the DTB team, the tennis legend is rising.
Boris Becker bites his teeth. Even though the calf still hurts so much, he doesn’t let anything be noticed:”That’s the least important thing at all,” says Becker gruffly:”Only the players are decisive. In the DTB selection, Becker is a team player – and for his players even goes beyond the pain threshold.
For the second time, Becker is part of the national team as the “head of the German men’s tennis team”, and after the first scoring during the successful relegation in Portugal, he is much more committed to the Australian team. Sometimes even a little overzealous. In the basketball duel between the coaches and players, Becker suffered a muscle fibre tear,”He may have exaggerated a bit,”says team boss Michael Kohlmann with a smile.
Born in Hagen, he appreciates Becker’s commitment as an additional specialist on the training course or as a counselor next to the court. Together, they lead the exercise sessions as a “good combination”, as Becker himself says. He wants to talk to the players, and they like to listen to the three-time Wimbledon winner:”It’s something special and a great help to have such a legend,”says Alexander Zverev.
The world number five knows Becker almost his whole life, and not only from television like his teammates:”I had my first contact with the Zverev family when Sascha was four,”says Becker. Since then, a relationship of trust has developed. After Zverev’s bitter defeat in Melbourne, Becker looked past the frustration on the training ground and talked on the phone about the tasks ahead.
At the Australian Open, Becker was the focus of attention as a newly awarded TV expert, but in Brisbane, 1400 kilometres away, he is not always the focus of attention. He followed the draw on Thursday behind the cameras and left the big stage to others. With his mobile phone, Becker recorded the water show of the Jetpack artists and applauded with appreciation. He says he feels it is a need to take care of the German players. However, this rarely happens in public.
Already as coach of the former world number one Novak Djokovic, Becker proved that he can subordinate himself and strengthen a team. The effort is still right now, but Becker’s achievements in the Davis Cup are measured by sporting success. In the last three years, it went into first-round bankruptcy. Becker is expected to reach at least the quarter-finals again, even though he can’t take on as much responsibility as before. As a player he led his country twice to the title, from 41 singles he won 38.
Since August Becker has been back in the DTB, where he was not always as respected as he is today. These times are history:”I feel like I’m in excellent hands, it’s a perfect situation,”says Becker and announces:”I want to do this job for a few more years,” but in the future he should be a bit reserved about basketball.