How was Boris Becker generally perceived?

[Fearsome Forehand]

Great player. Brilliant often and flaky always. Winning Wimby at 17 ruined the guy.

Great game for a fast surface. Big first serve, nasty second serve, very good volleyer and very good off the ground. Great serve and volley instincts.

Sampras is about 5 years younger which is significant in men's pro tennis. Becker was arguably well past his prime by the time Sampras was a factor.

Becker was too big to move extremely well.

[kiki]

Originally Posted by Fearsome Forehand

Great player. Brilliant often and flaky always. Winning Wimby at 17 ruined the guy.

Great game for a fast surface. Big first serve, nasty second serve, very good volleyer and very good off the ground. Great serve and volley instincts.

Sampras is about 5 years younger which is significant in men's pro tennis. Becker was arguably well past his prime by the time Sampras was a factor.

Becker was too big to move extremely well.

I agree.Plus, having been raised in european clay, he was really good from the baseline, and his backhand return of serve, when working, is one of the best ever.Killed Edberg with that shot in most of their matches.

[theagassiman]

Originally Posted by SystemicAnomaly

Nothing wrong with this lateral movement:

Not on a fast court when he could dive, no. He himself admits that the dive was to cover up his "less than average" lateral movement. Not slow but 'heavy' nevertheless.

I don't think he was too big to do something about it imo, look at safin he moved a lot better, but boris just wouldn't bite the bullet, his choice in the end.

[Laurie]

Originally Posted by Fearsome Forehand

Great player. Brilliant often and flaky always. Winning Wimby at 17 ruined the guy.

Great game for a fast surface. Big first serve, nasty second serve, very good volleyer and very good off the ground. Great serve and volley instincts.

Sampras is about 5 years younger which is significant in men's pro tennis. Becker was arguably well past his prime by the time Sampras was a factor.

Becker was too big to move extremely well.

It's actually around 3 years and 7 months difference, so not that big at all.

In 1990 the four semifinalist at the US Open:

John McEnroe - 31
Boris Becker - 22
Andre Agassi - 20
Pete Sampras - 19

So even though Becker broke through so early, his real age group was and should have been the guys who came through in the late 1980s / early 1990s. The fact that Becker and Sampras played eachother 19 times reflects that as well. Sampras played Becker more times than guys like Krajicek (10)and Rafter (16) and one less than Courier (20).

[PrinceMoron]

Ask a German what they think of him and you might be surprised.

[LeeD]

I"m Asian, and could care less about a German's opinion on a tennis player.
Becker was a free spirit, a big strong guy who could play at any level he wanted to, which means both up and down.
He lived life to the fullest, no regrets on his death bed. That's all you can ask for in life.

[droliver]

Originally Posted by Winners or Errors

Mac and Connors, maybe, but Lendl was still quite early in his run as the world's best clay-, hard-, carpet/indoor-court player at the time. I see young Becker as a talented rival to Lendl, but not a superior.

Lendl had already been full time on the tour for 6+ years by 1985 and was more lumped in with the older guys. While Lendl was near his peak at the time, Becker was this wunderkind that everyone felt was the future #1. While he never quite lived up to that early potential he projected, his arrival was so memorable at the time. That 1985 Wimbledon final was really the dawn of the modern age pro tennis in terms of what we'd see the next 15 years on tour. It also is the 1st major for a player who'd never used a wood or metal racket as a pro (I think), representing the generational breaks in technology and technique from Lendl.

[NonP]

Becker is the first player I ever remember rooting for. Loved those diving volleys.

I can't say how he was/is perceived in Germany, but as to the OP's particular example I'm pretty sure he was just paying PR lip service. Not that he doesn't really think Sampras was better, mind you (as we well know, Pete was just about the worst matchup for Boris). But he knew he'd have a chance at his best vs. Pete's best, otherwise he wouldn't achieved nearly as much.

[abmk]

Originally Posted by NonP

Becker is the first player I ever remember rooting for. Loved those diving volleys.

I can't say how he was/is perceived in Germany, but as to the OP's particular example I'm pretty sure he was just paying PR lip service. Not that he doesn't really think Sampras was better, mind you (as we well know, Pete was just about the worst matchup for Boris). But he knew he'd have a chance at his best vs. Pete's best, otherwise he wouldn't achieved nearly as much.

This guy says hi

[Limpinhitter]

Originally Posted by abmk

This guy says hi

We agree. Hmmm! Except for serve, Agassi had more power AND was steadier than Becker. In fact, I recall Becker saying that Agassi was just too steady for him.

[kiki]

Originally Posted by Limpinhitter

We agree. Hmmm! Except for serve, Agassi had more power AND was steadier than Becker. In fact, I recall Becker saying that Agassi was just too steady for him.

He was steadier and hit more powerful groundies than BB.But BB was quite more powerful, he just didn´t have the patience to engage in long rallies against AA

[Moose Malloy]

It also is the 1st major for a player who'd never used a wood or metal racket as a pro (I think),

Did Wilander ever use wood or metal as a pro?

[jakemcclain32]

Boris was exciting as hell to watch. My first favorite tennis player as a kid. He and Lendl had some absolute classics, and I probably saw half those matches on TV. I'm watching the other half on youtube, come to find out.

He was really the first player I saw, when I first started watching, that could put power, speed, and mental ability together when he really wanted it bad enough. Plus those dives were fun to watch.

[Limpinhitter]

Originally Posted by Moose Malloy

Did Wilander ever use wood or metal as a pro?

Not that I'm aware of.

Also, a little OT, but, I recently read that Miloslav Mecir was the last player on the men's tour to use a wood racquet in a major final, the 1986 USO final.

[droliver]

Originally Posted by Moose Malloy

Did Wilander ever use wood or metal as a pro?

Well he was playing in the summer of 1980 (July 1980 Bastad) in tour level events which preceded the F200 being sold and here's a photo of him from the 1981 junior French sporting a Rossignol aluminum

[droliver]

Originally Posted by Limpinhitter

Also, a little OT, but, I recently read that Miloslav Mecir was the last player on the men's tour to use a wood racquet in a major final, the 1986 USO final.

Along those lines, I think Pat Cash must have been the last major winner (1987 Wimbledon) sporting a metal racquet, and Cédric Pioline (1989-2002) the last tour player using a metal racquet. Both sporting Prince Magnesium Pros.

[galain]

Originally Posted by PrinceMoron

Ask a German what they think of him and you might be surprised.

I live in Germany and most of the people I've met here through tennis think very highly of him as a player. Some people make fun of him being overly philosophical (or trying to be) - but in terms of tennis, the only thing that seems to puzzle the players I know is the perception that he came out of nowhere.

He was a dominant force on the junior circuit here, and most people who were around at the time all thought it was only a matter of when and not if for Boris.

Droliver - I've seen a photo of young Boris using a wooden Adidas frame before he swtiched to the GTX. Would have been before he was 15 though I'm guessing, because I recall he used the GTX in Australia at 15 when he lost to Ben Testerman at the AO.

[Dan Lobb]

Originally Posted by SystemicAnomaly

Nothing wrong with this lateral movement:

The point is, how does he return the next shot while lying prone?
Why does he need to dive?

[pc1]

Originally Posted by Dan Lobb

The point is, how does he return the next shot while lying prone?
Why does he need to dive?

Because often if Becker didn't drive he wouldn't reach the shot at all. I doubt if he would dive if he didn't have to.

[PrinceMoron]

Originally Posted by LeeD

I"m Asian, and could care less about a German's opinion on a tennis player.
Becker was a free spirit, a big strong guy who could play at any level he wanted to, which means both up and down.
He lived life to the fullest, no regrets on his death bed. That's all you can ask for in life.

The point is someone can be quite fluent in a second language, one you share, and can come across as erudite, charming, debonair etc. However, if you can understand them in their first language you can get a very different idea of their personality.

The Brits seem to like BB a lot, he is always commentating at Wimbledon. He comes across quite well in English. Aber if you speak German you might think he sounds a bit of a prat.