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Becker to Launch Comeback at Australian Open

Tennis Express

Boris Becker is back in the game.

A month after he was released from a British prison, Hall of Famer Becker will make his tennis return as an analyst for Eurosport Germany’s Australian Open coverage.

The network tweeted the announcement along with this image of Becker and colleague Barbara Rittner.

Becker’s return to the sport after spending eight months behind bars is cause for celebration for his many supporters, who say he’s served his debt to society and deserves a second shot to rebuild his life and support his family.

Critics say seeing Becker go from a prison cell to a prime position as a Germany TV analyst in one month is another example of a two-tiered justice system that shows crime pays if you’re rich and famous. Critics say Becker got a slap on the wrist for his crime and viewers will get a slap on the face seeing a convicted criminal as Grand Slam commentator.

Becker supporters say he served time in a real prison, not a country club jail for white-collar criminals, paid steep punishment for his crime and deserves a chance to earn a living and repay his creditors. Tennis fans love a great comeback story and Becker fans say the good work he did during his playing, coaching and commentary career should not be canceled because of financial mistakes he made.

Upon his release, Becker was immediately a man in media demand. Becker was paid several hundreds of thousands of dollars by a German TV network for his first interview after his release from prison.

The former world No. 1 was released from a British prison on December 15th after serving eight months of a two-and-a-half year sentence for bankruptcy fraud.

In the interview, Becker shared how fellow inmates saved his life.

“It can hardly be more brutal,” Becker said of prison life.

Last April, the 55-year-old Becker was sentenced to prison for hiding about $3 Million in assets after his 2017 bankruptcy.

Following his early release, Becker boarded a private plane and returned to his native Germany. Upon landing, Boris gave his first interview about his harrowing life in prison to a Munich TV station. Becker shared fellow inmates saved his life responding to his screams after another prisoner cornered him and “wanted to kill me.”

“He underestimated that other inmates would come to my help and threaten him,” Becker said in the interview, adding he reconciled with his would-be murderer the next day. “And then the next day Ike asked if I would accept his apology. I could have rejected it.

“I…

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