Novak Djokovic has revealed that three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker will be visited in jail by two of his sons for the first time in the coming days.
Speaking at a Wimbledon press conference, the world number one said he has been communicating with Becker through the German’s relatives, and his eldest son Noah, 28, and his younger brother Elias, 22, will be paying him a visit “in the next few days”.
Becker, the former world number one and BBC commentator, 54, was jailed in April for two-and-a-half years over hiding £2.5 million of assets and loans to avoid paying his debts.
Djokovic told reporters that “it breaks my heart” to see his former coach behind bars.
The Serbian tennis star has been hosting Becker’s girlfriend, Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, and Noah in his player’s box at The Championships in a show of support for the family.
Speaking after winning his second-round singles match on Wednesday, Djokovic said: “I haven’t been communicating directly to him but I’ve been communicating to him through them.
“I was really glad to have hosted his girlfriend and his son, Noah, to my first round and now today second-round match.
“Noah and his younger brother Elias are going to visit Boris I think in the next few days, for the first time since he went to prison.
“I’ve just been trying to give support to people around him, his closest people, his family members, because I consider Boris really a family member, someone that I greatly appreciate, respect and care about.
“We’ve been through a lot together during those three years of collaboration.
“Our relationship dates back even before that.
“Of course, after we finished our professional relationship, we always stayed close, him with my team, with my agents, with my family.
“It breaks my heart to see what’s happening to him.
“I can only imagine how hard it is for his family members.
“So, of course, this is a little gesture of friendship to invite them.
“He knows and they know that they can always count on me for whatever support or help I can provide.”
Becker was declared bankrupt on June 21 2017 – owing creditors almost £50 million – over an unpaid loan of more than £3 million on his estate in Mallorca.
The German, who has lived in the UK since 2012, is expected to serve half of his sentence behind bars.
