Tennis nice Boris Becker has tearfully recounted the second the door of his single-occupancy cell at Britain’s infamous Wandsworth jail closed for the primary time.
“It was the loneliest moment I’ve ever had in life,” Becker stated in an interview with German broadcaster SAT.1, recalling how hours earlier he had been unable to say farewell to his family members earlier than being led downstairs to the courtroom jail.
The two-time Australian Open champion was sentenced to 30 months in jail in April for illicitly transferring giant quantities of cash and hiding property after he was declared bankrupt.
Becker would usually have needed to serve half of his sentence earlier than being eligible for parole, however was launched early beneath a fast-track deportation program for overseas nationals.
The 55-year-old, who was deported to his native Germany on December 15, stated he prayed each day within the three weeks between his conviction and sentencing, aware there was an opportunity he won’t get away with a suspended sentence.
Becker stated jail authorities appeared to have tried to make sure his security, allocating him a single cell and getting three skilled inmates – or “listeners” – to information him in his new life behind bars.
Violence was an issue, he stated, recounting situations when inmates threatened to hurt him till others stepped in.
In November, fellow prisoners organised a number of desserts for his birthday, the six-time grand slam champion stated.
“I’ve never experienced such solidarity in the free world,” he stated, including he deliberate to remain in contact with among the folks he met in jail.
For Becker, who rose to stardom in 1985 at age 17 when he turned the primary unseeded participant to win the lads’s singles title at Wimbledon, the jail sentence was a heavy blow.
Asked concerning the choose’s assertion that Becker had proven “no humility”, he acknowledged within the interview, “Maybe I should have (been) even more clear, more emotional”.
“Of course I was guilty,” he stated of the 4 out of 29 counts he was convicted on.
After retiring from skilled tennis in 1999, Becker labored as a coach – together with for Novak Djokovic – and tv pundit whereas additionally participating in a variety of investments and movie star poker video games.
“For years I made mistakes, I had false friends,” he stated. “This time in prison brought me back.”
