Boris Becker has seen some truly spectacular tennis players in his lifetime.
The German is one of the game’s greatest players himself, but he also played with some of the all-time greats while witnessing those that came both before and after him.
Becker has seen the game from multiple angles such as a player, coach and commentator, and his opinion carries plenty of weight in the tennis world.
Therefore, it is no surprise that his recent words about 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal have resonated with fans all around the world.
Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images for LaureusBoris Becker says there is an area of Rafael Nadal’s game that is better than any other player
Boris Becker has watched the last two decades of professional tennis very closely.
During this time the 57-year-old made his name as a commentator and he also spent three years coaching Novak Djokovic, who won six Grand Slam titles and 14 Masters 1000 titles under his tutelage.
But it was one of the Serbian’s biggest rivals in Nadal that Becker praised, by saying he something possessed something that was greater than anyone else in the game.
During an interview with Spanish outlet El Mundo, Becker said of Nadal: “Carlos has more natural talent, but Rafa’s heart hasn’t been [matched], nor will any other athlete in history have [it].
“Carlos is fantastic, Novak and Roger are legends, but Rafa was on a different level of competitiveness. If you saw yourself crossing paths with Nadal in a tournament. Good luck, my friend.”
Photo by Steve Powell/Allsport/Getty ImagesBoris Becker says he would change one thing about his own tennis career
Becker enjoyed an excellent career in which he was regarded as one of the entertaining players who possessed a charismatic personality that fans loved to watch.
He became a multi-time Grand Slam champion and is one of the 29 players who reached the ATP World number one ranking.
Becker’s most famous moment on court is perhaps when he made history by becoming the youngest Wimbledon winner aged just 17 in 1985.
This is something fans of all generations know, but in an interview with Sports Illustrated, Becker surprisingly said he would change this aspect of his career if he could.
“Wimbledon was always like Christmas for me, the best time of the year,” Becker said. “If I have a home as a sportsman, then it’s Wimbledon.
“But for my health, for my life, it would have been better if I had won Wimbledon later, at 21 or 22, and not at 17 and 18. Because then I wouldn’t have been the child prodigy that people still see me as.”