He presented the story of his career, from Grand Slam titles to the top of the rankings, but part of the documentary will focus on the past few years, marked by an important turning point: imprisonment. In fact, Baker was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for fraudulent bankruptcy. He spent part of these years in the toughest prison in the UK.
On the occasion of the screening of the documentary, The German tennis player gave an interview to Venezia de Repubblica, in which he talked about his experience. In prison I learned to accept my mistakes.
Even in tennis, the most difficult thing is to forget mistakes and missed chances, but not everyone can do that, only champions start from scratch. In the cell, I also understood that I had made mistakes, but I paid for them, and dearly.
“Today I am certainly more modest, perhaps more intelligent,” said the German.
Racism in prison
In the story, Baker specifies that great mental strength is not the fruit of experience in England, but comes from the past: “As a tennis player, I knew I had to control my emotions better, and be less impulsive.
Tennis is a very logical sport. You don’t win the game by luck or surprise. If you follow the rules, and you’re physically fit, you’ll win more matches than you lose.” The final clip about what shocked him during those months in prison: “Forms of racism? Many, I have met real Nazis.
“I risked taking a mountain of punches, but in the end they let me,” said the German tennis player, who has now come out of captivity and commented on the Australian Open with Eurosport. Image credits: Getty Images
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