Visiting Paris at the beginning of May, on the occasion of the Laureus World Sports Awards, of which he is one of the ambassadors, Boris Becker gave us a few minutes of his time. He said he was "happy to be back in Paris", a few days before a Grand Slam tournament where he never managed to get past the semifinals, unlike the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open which he has all won.
But Boris Becker assures him, he keeps "good memories" of his passage Porte d'Auteuil, especially when he was the coach of Novak Djokovic, when he won the tournament in 2016. A few weeks before the start of the competition, he entrusted us with the list of his favorites for this new edition of Roland-Garros. Without wanting to dwell too much on the subject, he also gave us some news, five months after his release from prison.
Since December, and your release from prison, how do you feel?
BORIS BECKER. I feel good. I am happy to be out of all these prohibitions. I'm glad I found my own world, and I'm grateful for the support I've received.
You are close to Novak Djokovic, who, as you said in the press, has been very supportive of you in recent months. What relationship do you have with him?
He is a very close friend of both me and my family and I love hers very much. We worked together for a long time and we kept this closeness. I am truly grateful for his help and support. He is an extraordinary boy.
How does he feel about Roland Garros? Do you think he can win?
He feels good, excited to play this tournament. At this point in his career, he is on his way to becoming the most successful player in history, with 23 Grand Slam tournaments already on his clock. He never imagined going through this 15 years ago. Of course he can win!
Read alsoRoland-Garros: after the forfeit of Nadal, who can win the Parisian Grand Slam?
Who are your favorites for the tournament?
Without Nadal, we can obviously mention Novak Djokovic as I said. He's a fantastic player who has already won here. I will also bet on the world No. 1, Carlos Alcaraz, who, specifically on clay, is one of the favorites for the title. But I think we should also mention the rising stars of the discipline: Jannick Sinner, Holger Rune, Russian players including Medvedev and Rublev, who both have very good tennis. I think it's pretty open for men.
19 - Holger Rune (19 years and 191 days) is the 2nd youngest player to win the Paris-Bercy Masters, behind Boris Becker (18 years and 346 days) in 1986. In a hurry.#ParisMasters pic.twitter.com/UK6nIzUnNs
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) November 6, 2022
On the women's side, it will be more closed. I will put a coin on either Iga Swiatek or Aryna Sabalenka. It's really the two players who dominate at the moment. They met in the final in Madrid at the beginning of May (in the final of the Masters 1000 of the city, won by Sabalenka 2 sets to 1). It was an incredible match. I think these two players have their cards to play.
We are in Paris, Roland-Garros is the tournament that has seen Rafael Nadal win 14 times. Do you think he is the greatest of all time, in Roland but not only?
He's obviously the greatest champion in the history of Roland Garros, and I think forever. To be able to win 14 titles here, I don't think anyone else will ever be able to do it. But more generally, I'm not a fan of the debate around the "Goat" (greatest of all time). It can be Federer, like Djokovic, but also Björn Borg, Rod Laver and many others. Every generation has its great players. The last fifteen years have obviously been marked by the domination of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
With the retirement of Federer, the injuries of Nadal, sometimes Djokovic... The circuit is looking for new idols. What is your view of the "NextGen"?
I think it's all up to them! They have the qualities, they have the personalities. But they are still very young. The general public does not know them well yet, and it has been carried by the "Big 3" for years. Now, tennis fans must accept that this generation is leaving, and the next must take over. And among them, we find: Alcaraz, Rune, Sinner...
You have mentioned Carlos Alcaraz several times, in your opinion, can he be the next to win this status?
It's a difficult task, but I think he's on his way to achieving it. He has only been on the circuit since 2021, this is only his second full year and he is already No. 1 in the world. It's spectacular. He plays really well, he wins, he takes the pressure. And he is pleasant, smiling, he attracts more and more fans. But I think that Holger Rune, with his powerful style of play, his strong personality can also make an impression. And I also appreciate Jannik Sinner, with his cheeky smile. I really like this trio.
The issue of mental health is increasingly present in professional tennis, and sport in general. Do you think this is something that needs to be taken into account even more now?
The younger generation of players suffers from this. Now, in the world we live in, with social networks, everything goes very fast, sometimes too fast. And you have to find the "off" button, and not spend your time on Instagram for example. I think that's the mistake: that the new generation never puts its mind on "off".
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