The tennis legend, the youngest in history to triumph on London grass: “The nickname Bum Bum was given to me by an Indian doubles partner of mine”
Boris Becker is precise: he remembers all his most prestigious matches perfectly. And in the story of a career that goes far beyond the six Slams and the two Davis Cups won, he fascinates and conquers. The Social Theater hangs from his lips. Boris Becker is a Great Beauty. Even if life, in recent times, has taken him on a roller coaster.
Boris’s words
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“I have been living in Milan for six months – he begins – and I would like to be able to speak Italian to communicate with you. I’ll learn quickly, I promise.” Riccardo Crivelli, who encourages him in the narrative, cannot help but start from his first triumph at Wimbledon. It was July 1985 and the German was 17 years old. “Almost 40 have passed,” he underlines, “and it seems impossible. There was no Internet, there was no Social Media, I spoke little English and I was too young to understand, perhaps even to win. In fact, age is what helped me surprise the world.” Beckermania exploded. And the nickname “Bum bum” became a recognized brand throughout the world. “It was my doubles partner, an Indian, who called me that first. Then – he reveals – he would also have been an actor in James Bond films. But let’s be clear: there has never been anything easy in my career, or rather in my life.”
the enemies
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The “back to back” at Wimbledon, in the final against Ivan Lendl (“Confirming it was more difficult than winning the first time”), the 6h39′ match in the Davis Cup against John McEnroe (“Then the event had a nice formula, not like now. I played against him and 16,000 American fans, so excited, it seemed like 160,000″), the rivalry with Stefan Edberg (“The only junior player who won all four Slams. He was so elegant and polite that for me it was difficult to find extra reasons against him”). The real “enemies” were McEnroe and Lendl: “I learned English by playing against them. From a sporting point of view, we hated each other.” And then, speaking of particularly difficult opponents, the red clay: “I was born and raised on that surface – he admits – I was good, but not good enough. There you only win if you make fewer mistakes than your opponent. And he didn’t match my type of game.”
second career
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Eleven years passed between his first and last Slam triumph (1985-1996). Then, his second career, the one that led him to take on the role of coach. Indeed, from Nole Djikovic’s super coach: “When he asked me to follow him – he says – he had dropped from number one to two in the world, he had lost the last four Slam finals played. We spent a weekend talking about tennis, that is, what we love most. I appreciated his honesty and accepted the job. He remains my younger brother and a phenomenon: at 36 he is still dominant. The greatest ever? It is impossible to make rankings between champions of different eras. However, Novak has won 24 Slams…”.
Italian tennis
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There is also time for an analysis of the Italian moment. “Sinner, Berrettini who will be back soon, Musetti, Sonego, Nardi: you are in good hands, there is a present and a future. I know Jannik, he has red hair like me, I know everything about him: even how much sun cream he should use. Within a couple of years he will be at the top. In general, the new generation of phenomena is ready to put on a great show.” The ending is a gift: a t-shirt of “his” Milan with his name on the shoulders: “I loved the team of Gullit, Van Basten and Rijkard – he smiles -. I consider myself a friend of Maldini. And then, living in Milan, you either stay on one side or the other.”
October 13, 2023 (changed October 14, 2023 | 00:09)
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2023-10-13 20:59:34
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