Becker admits tax 'mistakes'

Becker looked relaxed as he posed for photographers

Former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker has told a German court that he made financial mistakes 10 years ago but denied deliberately cheating his taxes.

I accept that I am responsible for a mistake that I made 10 years ago and I know that I have to pay for that

Boris Becker

He is accused of failing to pay millions of dollars in tax between 1991 and 1993.

The former tennis star admitted keeping an apartment in the city of Munich while listing his place of residence as the tax haven Monaco.

He said he was aware of the risk he was taking at the time but had his mind on his tennis career and his love life.

And he said he could not be accused of criminal scheming as the flat - his sister's loft - was basic and he stayed there only occasionally.

The BBC's Rob Broomby says that if found guilty, Becker could face a prison sentence, but his co-operation with the courts might make that less likely.

The trial comes at the end of a long period of bad publicity for the sportsman, whose private life and particularly his divorce have dominated the headlines about him in recent years.

Contrition

The former tennis star looked relaxed as he arrived at court, posing for photographers.

Becker and wife Barbara divorced last year

"I accept that I am responsible for a mistake that I made 10 years ago and I know that I have to pay for that," he said.

He added that the 10-year investigation was partly to blame for his decision to retire from tennis.

"I couldn't live like that any more, much less play tennis," he said.

Boris Becker is one of Germany's biggest sporting heroes, winning six grand-slam tennis titles including three at Wimbledon.

Celebrity status

He burst onto the scene in 1985, winning his first title on the south London grass courts as an unseeded teenager.

Becker burst onto the world stage in 1985

Known as "Boom-Boom" for his powerful serve, he went on to win a total of 49 singles titles, and was briefly ranked world number one in 1991.

He also became a TV celebrity, appearing in chat shows and advertising campaigns.

Since retiring from professional tennis in 1999, he has admitted to fathering a child by a Russian model and he later divorced his wife.

As a result his fortune, estimated at 150m euros ($146.5m) during his career, has melted away on child support and divorce payments.

He has now sold his villa in the city of Munich and lives in a hotel.

High taxes

But most Germans do not have much sympathy for the star's current plight.

They pay high taxes and feel their sports stars should share the burden.

Five years ago the father and manager of another illustrious German tennis champion, Steffi Graf, spent nearly two years in prison after being convicted of evading tax on his daughter's earnings.

Many other leading German sportsmen - like fellow tennis player Michael Stich, racing driver Michael Schumacher and former footballer Franz Beckenbauer - are tax exiles.