Boris Becker coached the Serb for three years and the “Djoker” celebrated great successes with him. Now Novak Djokovic has spoken out about the court ruling against his former coach – with moving words.
World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic has expressed his dismay at the two-and-a-half-year prison sentence handed down to his former coach Boris Becker. “It broke my heart. He’s a long-time friend, he was my coach for three years, he’s someone close to me who contributed a lot to my success,” Djokovic said on the sidelines of the Masters tournament in Madrid. “As a friend”, he was “very sad”.
He hoped, the Serb elaborated, that Becker “will get through this time and that when he is released from prison he will be able to live his life.” He said he was praying for Becker and expressed his hope that the 54-year-old “will do well in terms of his mental health, because that will be the most difficult part.”
Becker was sentenced at a London court on Friday and was ordered to start serving his sentence immediately. He is charged with offences in his insolvency proceedings, which have been ongoing since 2017. These involve an alleged failure to disclose possessions and concealing debts. The court jury had found him guilty on four of 24 counts.
