Novak Djokovic reveals he has been in touch with Boris Becker's son to offer help

After his comfortable third-round victory at the French Open, world No 1 Novak Djokovic took time to express concern for Boris Becker – his former coach and mentor – and to reveal that he has been in touch with Becker’s son Noah to offer assistance.

Becker spent three seasons working on Djokovic’s support staff, from 2014 to 2016. In that time, he helped transform his client’s reputation from a shaky closer-out of tournaments into a cold-eyed winner.

The two men have remained in close touch ever since, and Djokovic described himself as “heartbroken” when the news first broke of Becker’s two-and-a-half-year jail sentence for concealing assets.

On Friday night, the subject came up again after Djokovic’s routine 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Aljaz Bedene, the Slovenian who spent a couple of years playing under the British flag but has now reverted to his original nationality.

Asked about the Becker situation, Djokovic replied, “Even when we stopped working, our relationship kept going in a right way. I have been in touch with one of his sons, Noah, and asking if there is something that I could do.”

Although Djokovic is due in London next month to defend his Wimbledon title, he will probably not be able to visit Becker, who was recently moved from the Category B prison at Wandsworth in south London to a more relaxed environment in Huntercombe, Oxfordshire.

This is thought to be a sign that Becker will shortly be deported to Germany – an experience that Djokovic himself encountered in Australia four months ago, albeit in very different circumstances.

“It's terrible,” said Djokovic. “I'm just very sad that someone I know so well, and of course someone that is a legend of our sport, is going through what he's going through. It's