Sue Barker's golden moments - No. 3

Boris Becker wins his first title at the age of 17

Sue Barker has seen many of Wimbledon's finest moments in her time as a player and BBC presenter... here she reflects on a sensational victory in the men's singles 15 years ago.

It seems strange to say it now, but the name Boris Becker meant nothing to tennis fans before the summer of 1985.

The 17-year-old was a virtually unknown quantity, though a quarter-final appearance at the Australian Open in 1984 had given some hint of his Grand Slam potential.

Still, even Becker himself could scarcely have guessed just how much his life was about to change when Wimbledon came around a year later.

His acrobatic and energetic style proved the ideal tonic after John McEnroe's retirement left a character void at Wimbledon, though his progress to the final was far from straight-forward.

He survived two five-setters and a stream of rain delays before coming up against Kevin Curren in the showpiece match.

Public opinion was firmly on Becker's side, though Curren's vastly superior experience had most experts tipping the South African to win.

Becker was able to supply the fairytale four-set victory though and in doing so, he became the tournament's youngest champion, the only unseeded winner and the first German champion.

It wasn't just Becker who felt the force of his triumph.

Tennis itself embarked on the start of a new era, with the men's game becoming quite literally a power struggle and survival of not only the fittest, but also the strongest would be the order of the day.