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Becker: German Tennis in Turmoil

May 16, 2005
https://p.dw.com/p/6eCB

Germany's three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker insists his country no longer have any world-class tennis players following the latest failure of German stars at the ATP Hamburg Masters. Tommy Haas, Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schüttler all crashed out in Hamburg by the second round and Becker believes it is another example of the decline of German tennis. "At the moment we do not have any world class players," Becker told Bild am Sonntag. "Haas, Kiefer and Schüttler have all been in the top 10 but have slipped down the rankings due to various reasons." Former World No. 2 Haas is the highest ranked Germany player, standing 35th in the 2005 ATP Tour race, while Anna-Lena Grönefeld is the best German player in the WTA standings ranked 51. "Philipp Petzschner is the best example of what is wrong with German tennis," added Becker. "Two years ago he was the best junior in the world and played Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon. Just look where Petzschner and Nadal are now. "Between the ages of 16 and 20 something is going wrong. We have not found the secret to success here in Germany." Spaniard Nadal, 18, has raced into the top 10 in then the world rankings and is one of the favorites for the French Open while Petzschner is ranked 304 in the world.