Becker tells of famous fling

Becker's late-night encounter helped break up his marriage

Former German tennis champion Boris Becker has told for the first time of his brief encounter with a Russian model who later gave birth to his illegitimate daughter.

Becker had sex with the model, Angela Ermakova, in a broom cupboard at a Japanese restaurant in London in June 1999.

Details of the liaison first emerged when Ms Ermakova filed a paternity suit against the tennis star, saying he was the father of her daughter Anna.

Becker denied it at first, but admitted paternity after the results of DNA tests.

Now, in his autobiography, entitled "Augenblick, verweile doch..." (Stay A Moment Longer), he gives his account of what happened.

Significant look

Becker, 35, says it all started after he lost his last match at Wimbledon.

He had a two-hour argument with his wife, Barbara, who was then seven months pregnant with their second child.

I visit Anna every two months. I want to learn to love my daughter Boris Becker

The row ended when Barbara felt what she thought was the onset of labour pains.

While she went to hospital, accompanied by a friend, Becker left their hotel room for a drink at the bar of the Japanese restaurant Nobu.

He spotted Ms Ermakova, whom he had first noticed there two weeks earlier and who had given him a significant look at the time.

Small talk

"Now she was there again and walked past the bar twice - and again there was this look," he writes.

Angela Ermakova now lives in London

"Some time later she left her table and headed for the toilet. I followed her. After five minutes of small talk, we got down to business in the most convenient place."

In the book, which is being serialised by the German newspaper Bild, Becker says his wife's labour pains that night were a false alarm, but eight months later he learned that he was responsible for another pregnancy.

In February 2000, he received a fax from Ms Ermakova, telling him his child was due the following month.

Becker and his wife divorced in January 2001. He says he sees Anna, now aged three, every two months and adds: "I want to learn to love my daughter."