Boris Becker ran over the red carpet with a smile and accepted the congratulations.
“It feels good to be here in Hamburg and to get this honorary award,” said the tennis icon at the award ceremony of the sports picture awards on Wednesday in the Hanseatic city. Becker was awarded the classic in Wimbledon in the “Legend” category 40 years after his premier triumph.
He has had “good and bad experiences” with the German sports media in recent years, said Becker: “I am pleased that I will be respected this evening.”
The Leimener is happy to remember his breakthrough in the tennis world top. He still occasionally had “emotional moments” while thinking about the Wimbledon victory, said Becker.
Laudator Klopp raves about Becker
The Award was presented by Laudator Jürgen Klopp. “It was the greatest for me. At that time we all felt that we had won,” said the 58-year-old on the red carpet with a view of Becker’s coup.
“I know where I was about 10 minutes after the last point. I am on the tennis court myself and tried to play my soul out of my body because it was simply the greatest experience that I had until then, from the audience perspective,” enthused Klopp.
The 57 -year -old Becker had first triumphed in Wimbledon in 1985 and is still the youngest winner of the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world, which he was able to win three times.
“His success made tennis popular in Germany and he was a global sports legend,” the BILD group explains the decision for Becker in a press release.