Boris Becker prison sentence: Murray unemotional, while Djokovic is heartbroken

First Published May 2, 2022, 4:12 PM IST

Boris Becker was jailed for two-and-a-half years at Southwark Crown Court on Friday after he was charged with four offences under the Insolvency Act in April.

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Andy Murray believes legendary tennis player Boris Becker deserved no 'special treatment' after the 6-time Grand Slam winner was jailed to two-and-a-half years in prison for a bankruptcy scam. The former World No.1 also added that he felt no emotion upon hearing the German was handed a prison sentence.

Also read: 6-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker jailed for two-and-a-half years over bankruptcy

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The former Wimbledon champion was handed over the jail term at Southwark Crown Court on Friday after he was charged with four offences under the Insolvency Act in April. Boris Becker will spend half of his sentence behind bars.

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"I didn't really feel particularly emotional about it. He broke the law and if you do that, I don't think you should get special treatment because of who you are or what you've achieved. Again, I feel sorry that he's in that situation, but I also feel sorry for the people that he's affected by his decisions as well and what's happened to them. I hope he's okay and that he learns from his mistakes. But I didn't have a particular emotion about it," Murray stated.

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Meanwhile, Murray's old rival Novak Djokovic, who was coached by Becker between 2014 and 2016, said he was "heartbroken" by the news. The current World No.1 said, "I am just heartbroken for him. He's a friend, long-time friend, a coach for three, four years, someone I consider close in my life and has contributed a lot to my success in my career."

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“I was just heartbroken. I don't know what to say more than that. I'm not going to get into details of the verdict, because I'm not in a position to do that, but as his friend, I'm super sad for him. It's not much that you can say," the Serbian added.

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The Serb clinched six Grand Slams during his time being coached by Becker, who is currently incarcerated at the Category B Wandsworth Prison. The 54-year-old is set to be moved to a lower-security Category C prison in the coming days.

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"I just hope he will go through this period that he has to be in jail and that when he comes out he's, you know, being able to live his life as, I don't know if we'll use the word 'normal', because the life is definitely changing, I mean, for anybody going to prison, especially for that long of a time," the 20-time Grand Slam champion remarked.

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“So I don't know how things will turn out for him. I just pray for him. I hope things will be well in terms of his health, his mental health because that's going to be the most challenging part," Djokovic concluded.

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