Tennis ace Boris Becker recalls prison loneliness, friends

BERLIN: Tennis great Boris Becker tearfully recounted the moment the door of his single-occupancy cell at Britain’s notorious Wandsworth prison closed for the first time, speaking publicly after serving eight months for bankruptcy offenses. “It was the loneliest moment I’ve ever had in life,” Becker said in an interview with German broadcaster SAT.1 that aired Tuesday, recalling how hours earlier he had been unable to say farewell to his loved ones before being led downstairs to the courtroom jail. The three-time Wimbledon champion ​​was sentenced to 30 months in prison in April for illicitly transferring large amounts of money and hiding assets after he was declared bankrupt.

Becker would normally have had to serve half of his sentence before being eligible for release, but was released early under a fast-track deportation program for foreign nationals. Becker, who was deported to his native Germany on Dec. 15, said he prayed daily in the three weeks between his conviction and sentencing, conscious that there was a chance he might not get away with a suspended sentence.

Arriving in Wandsworth, the 55-year-old Becker said he feared attacks by other inmates. “The many films I saw beforehand didn’t help,” he said. Becker said prison authorities appeared to have tried to ensure his safety, allocating him a single cell and getting three experienced inmates — or “listeners” — to guide him in his new life behind bars.

That included coping with the lack of food, Becker said, as prison fare was largely restricted to rice, potatoes and sauce. “Sunday roasts” consisted of a chicken drumstick, he said. “I felt hunger for the first time in my life,” said Becker, who won the first of many millions of dollars as a player at the age