We live in a time where tennis greats all hail from Europe. Where once we loved the American icons such as Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi or worshipped the Antipodean artistry of Lleyton Hewitt or Pat Rafter, we now look up to the Holy Trinity from the European countries of Spain, Serbia and Switzerland. Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have changed tennis history and given the game a future where other European players will have to reach the top of their craft to live up to the reputations that preceded them.
Three decades ago, three other European heavyweights redefined the era in which they played. German phenomenon Boris Becker, Swedish serve & volley specialist Stefan Edberg and clay court craftsman Ivan Lendl all commanded huge respect as they carved out careers that stand up to scrutiny today. We continue our look at this Heilige Dreifaltigkeit – that’s German for Holy Trinity – by focusing on the Leimen-born Boris Franz Becker, the man who would become Wimbledon champion before he even was a man.
To say that Boris Becker burst onto the tennis scene would be an understatement. In fact, Becker’s development and progression even surprised himself at the time of him winning Wimbledon. An unseeded player – the last to win Wimbledon 35 years later – Becker flew through the competition, winning the final against Kevin Curran in four sets, becoming the youngest-ever Grand Slam champion at the age of 17 years and 227. While this record would be eclipsed by Michael Chang, who shocked the world when he won the French Open in 1989 while 117 days younger, Becker’s record still stands at Wimbledon, with no-one getting close to his prodigious achievement.
Becker’s game was built around a rock-solid first serve, with his swinging body generating devastating power that had his opponents on the back foot immediately. He was a mean returner of the ball and his forehand was a booming one. His defence of the Wimbledon title aged 18 the next season, winning in straight sets against the Czechoslovakian player Ivan Lendl was a masterclass in how to play on grass, the clay court favouring Lendl made to look like a fish out of water by the teenager.