“Steffi Graf fascinated me, it wasn’t the infantile falling in love of a teenager”: When Boris Becker opened up on his ‘deep affection’ for compatriot
Boris Becker once opened up about his admiration for compatriot Steffi Graf, which began during their early days of training together. Becker also disclosed that he got to know Graf’s real personality outside of her calm and reserved nature on the court. As
Becker first met Graf when he was eight and she was six, as they trained together at the same sports center in Leimen. The two German tennis legends found themselves in the “same boat” as they navigated the rise from the junior circuit to achieving success on tour.In his 2003 autobiography ‘The Player,’ Boris Becker reflected on his close bond with Steffi Graf, emphasizing that they never needed to explain themselves to each other because they understood the unique pressures of their sport.
“We’ve been comrades in arms over the years. We didn’t have to explain to each other about the pressure we were both under. We’ve always been in the same boat, from Brühl and Leimen to Wimbledon and back,” Becker wrote.
The six-time Grand Slam champion opened up about his fascination with Graf, explaining that his desire to get to know her better wasn’t because of an “infantile” infatuation but a “deep affection” for a kindred spirit.
“As a woman, she fascinated me. It wasn’t the infantile falling-in-love of a teenager that made me want to get to know Steffi better. It was a deep feeling of affection, an unexpressed understanding between like-minded people who shared the same fate,” Becker said.
Becker disclosed that he was curious about the power, motivation and inspiration that fueled the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s accomplishments, questioning what qualities she possessed that he didn’t.
Describing her success as “sexy,” the former World No. 1 also shared that he got to see an exciting and lively side of Steffi Graf, which was unlike her serious demeanor as a tennis player.
“And, naturally, I was curious about her too: where did she get the power, the motivation, the inspiration that made her so successful? What had she got that I hadn’t?” he said.
“And we all know that success is sexy – not to mention Steffi’s legs! The Steffi I got to know was an exciting person, not in the least shallow, with a sombre side and a lively side. These weren’t visible in the tennis player,” he added.
“Even as a child, Steffi Graf was focused and introverted and trained like a robot” – Boris Becker
Boris Becker and Steffi Graf
In the same autobiography, Boris Becker disclosed that even as a child, Steffi Graf was very introverted and trained like a robot. He expressed his belief that these “typically German” character traits contributed to the “long time” it took for the 22-time Grand Slam champion to gain international popularity.
Becker also likened Graf to fellow German and Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher, who was similarly perceived as being too “brusque.”
“Even as a child, Steffi Graf was focused and introverted, and sometimes trained like a robot. Thanks to these supposedly typical German characteristics, it took quite a long time for her to become internationally popular, rather like Michael Schumacher in Formula 1, who always comes across as so brusque – as though all he’s missing is the spiked helmet,” Becker wrote.
“Steffi was too determined for some people’s liking – too correct, too cool, too ‘Made in Germany,'” he added.
Steffi Graf herself has spoken about being “very serious” on the court, admitting that she wasn’t the type to indulge in lighthearted interactions with the ball girls during matches like Boris Becker and Andre Agassi did.
