Three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker "was appointed on Wednesday as head of men's tennis in his home country" as the German Tennis Federation (DTB) "looks to revive the once hugely popular sport," according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS. In his new capacity, Becker will also be consulting Davis Cup players as well as all top German players, "as the former powerhouse looks to reduce the gap with strong tennis nations." Becker was a Davis Cup coach for Germany from '97-99 "but had an uneasy relationship" with the DTB. He said, "Tennis is a matter of the heart for me. It is what I can do best. ... I love this sport. I love this country and I am happy again to play an important role in German tennis." No German man has won a grand slam singles title since Becker's 1996 Australian Open victory, and the last German man to win Wimbledon was Michael Stich in '91. Becker had a "successful spell" coaching former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic from '13-16, a period in which the Serb won six of his 12 grand slam titles (REUTERS, 8/23).
