Eurosport replaces Boris Becker
“Boris Becker’s cell is six square meters – and he has to share it.”
Boris Becker is being held in “one of the harshest prisons in Britain”. Arndt Strigler has details of prison conditions and talks about whether the three-time Wimbledon winner will soon be the new prison coach.
Boris Becker has been imprisoned since April 29. Looks like his lawyers are working on the transfer. Becker is temporarily losing his job as a tennis expert at Eurosport. The station found a successor.
JOnly five kilometers separate the place where Boris Becker celebrated his greatest success from the place where he suffered his greatest defeat. The Victorian Wandsworth prison, where the convicted former tennis player was taken by security transport on April 29 after being sentenced to two and a half years in prison for postponing his bankruptcy, is in south London – as is Wimbledon Central Court.
Baker has been in the infamous, notoriously poor prison for 13 days. However, Baker may soon be transferred to an institution with a lower level of security. “I don’t expect him to be in Wandsworth for long,” said Giles Park Jones, one of his attorneys. In general, Baker must spend at least half of two and a half years in prison. In theory, the 54-year-old can still appeal the ruling, but the chances of success are considered rather low.
It is not known how Baker behaves in custody. But it is clear that the tennis legend has lost and some of his jobs. So he can no longer work as a Eurosport expert. In fact, Becker was going back to work for the TV station at the French Open, which begins on May 22 in Paris.
According to information from “Bild”, the radio station has already found a successor to Baker. Misha Zverev will take his place in front of the camera. The older brother of the currently best German tennis player Alexander Zverev takes his place alongside commentator Matthias Stach in the best matches. In addition, Zverev will lead the “Matchball” show in the Munich studio every day from 8:30 pm, which was previously called “Matchball Becker”.
Zverev wants to ‘give tennis up’
“In Misha Zverev we have an expert who is not only close to the action, but has already worked for Eurosport at Grand Slams and also accompanied the entire tennis tournament at the Olympic Games from the studio at Munich-Unterföhring for Eurosport,” said Gernot Bauer, Head of Sports at Eurosports. “He knows both our team and operations.”
Misha Zverev ended his career in 2018. His best world ranking was 44
Source: PA / dpa / Frank Molter
Zverev was already a Eurosport expert during the Tokyo Olympics, where his brother won the gold medal. “It will be two intense weeks of tennis with first-class matches. I not only want to explain to the viewers the little details that often make big differences, but also convey the enthusiasm for tennis,” Zverev says.
It is not yet clear if Zverev will also be a TV expert after the French Open. Just like the way the station deals with Baker, whose contract runs until 2023.