Hero, villain, clown: Germany reacts to the fall of Boris Becker

Many Germans have closely followed his financial woes that ended in a jail sentence

‘As far as money and women are concerned, he made more errors in his life than he ever did on the tennis court’ (AFP/Getty)

It’s been the best of times for Germans and Boris Becker. And it’s also been the worst of times.

Ever since the 17-year-old burst out of nowhere onto their living room TV sets with his historic win at Wimbledon in 1985, Becker has been both widely admired for his heroics on the tennis court yet also widely ridiculed at home for his long procession of troubles off the court.

“Schadenfreude” is perhaps a most suitable German word that describes the feeling that many Germans harbour about their fallen superstar who on Friday was jailed for two and a half years by a court in London for hiding millions of pounds worth of assets following his 2017 bankruptcy.