Boris now serving up laughter…

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Oct 22, 2005

He's beaten some of the best tennis players in the world, but this autumn Boris Becker faces an even tougher challenge ( proving a German can have a sense of humour.

The former Wimbledon champion is stepping up to be a team captain on the new series of BBC 1 quiz, from Monday, putting himself at the mercy of seasoned comedians Jonathan Ross and Rory McGrath.

Boris replaces cricketer Phil Tufnell.

"The big question is what will happen on the show," Boris says, with a grin. "It's an exciting new move for me."

He may be better known for his Boom Boom serve than his verbal volleys but the 37-year-old reckons he's up to the on-screen challenge.

"It's going to be unknown territory, a real change for me," he says. "I hope I'm going to be all right."

It won't be Boris' first foray into TV, of course ( he's been a guest commentator for the BBC's Wimbledon coverage and he's a regular fixture on German TV, presenting his own chat show. He's no stranger to fellow panelist Jonathan Ross either, having appeared on his chat show.

Now he's as comfortable in front of the camera as he was on centre court, he says.

"I like working for TV. I've been flirting with the camera for a couple of years now," he says.

"I like my job at the BBC very much. I'm an opinionated man who doesn't hold back. That is part of my role at Wimbledon and that's the reason behind the offer to join the quiz team."

With TV, as with tennis, hard work pays off, he says.

"It's like anything, it's practice. If you believe in yourself and you have your own strategy, it will work. But the audience decides in the end."

It's a brave man who takes on professional comedians, especially in his second language and on TV, but Boris says he's ready.

"Whatever ball you have, throw it at me and hopefully I will hit it," he says.

"I think I am a prime example that Germans have a sense of humour. Mine is very dry ( it took the Germans a long time to realise I'm funny. The English got it much quicker."

He is hoping his broad sporting knowledge will stand him in good stead. Boris follows all sports but is a particular fan of football, which he calls the No 1 sport in the world.

"Either you have that sort of information or you don't. Comedy is much more difficult, but it's still sports comedy. I will be a bit at home. It's tough enough in German, but I feel quite comfortable in English.

"We all have our repertoire. I'm not a professional comedian but I know I have a sense of humour."

There's another thing Boris is sure of. He has no regrets at hanging up his tennis racquet.

"I don't miss the pro circuit, 15 years of it was more than plenty. I'm very happy where I am now."

That's a big call, considering his past career. Boris became the youngest man to win Wimbledon at 17 years, seven months when he defeated Kevin Curren in 1985. He went on to win the prestigious tournament twice more, making his final appearance on Wimbledon's centre court in 1997, when he lost to Pete Sampras in the quarter-finals.

He retired from the international circuit two years later, after amassing an estimated pounds 100m in prize money and sponsorship deals.

But the end of his professional career on court was just the beginning of the media fascination with the tennis superstar.

His name moved from the back pages of newspapers to the front after a broom cupboard liaison with Russian-African model Angela Ermakowa at fashionable London restaurant Nobu hastened the demise of his marriage to model Barbara, with whom he has two children. It also resulted in the birth of his illegitimate daughter Anna, now six, who was the subject of a bitter paternity suit.

He seems resigned to interest in his personal life but admits he's never got used to the media spotlight.

"I thought it would stop after I left the tennis circuit but it's gotten worse," he says.

"I understand why they ask about things that happened in the past but I want to tell them what I am doing now," he adds, with a hint of frustration.

Now based in Zurich, Boris says he relishes the chance to enjoy more privacy than in Germany.

"When you are as recognisable as I am there is no privacy."

And while he still has the drive to win, he's happy to channel it into less serious pursuits.

"We should laugh at ourselves first, then others. Winning for me means if everyone has a good laugh on the show."