Benjamin Becker Tennis: February 2007

Becker News + Blog

Wednesday, February 28, 2007
BB cruises with a win over Guga

BB started his afternoon with a win in his second round robin match at The Tennis Channel Open in Vegas. BB prevailed over former #1 and 3-time French Open winner Gustavo Kuerten 6-4, 6-3. Taking just over an hour to defeat Kuerten, BB only lost 5 points on his first serve and recorded 9 aces. This was a great win after his extremely close opening round loss to the Czech Republic's Jan Hernych. He will now will sit tight and await the results between Hernych and Kuerten to see if he can slip his way into the Finals Round.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Vegas BB, Vegas

Congratulations to BB for being the newest member of the ATP's top 40 players.

-- One year ago BB was ranked 251!!!
-- Following his remarkable run at the US Open his ranking was 76...He has cut his ranking in half since then.
-- In the 2007 Champions race Benjamin comes in at 26th and BB is also in the top 20 for prize money.
-- BB is nearing $100,000 in prize earnings for the current season.

BB comes into Vegas as the 8th seed in The Tennis Channel Open. In his Round Robin grouping, following the withdrawal of Robby Ginepri, are Gustavo Kuerten and Jan Hernych. BB opens up Tuesday against Hernych who is from Czech Republic. In the evening he will be teaming with former Vanderbilt standout Bobby Reynolds against the top Israeli team Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich.

Kuerten is a former world #1 and 3-time French Open Champion. Unfortunately, he has not been able to compete consistently since 2004 due to a hip condition. The fans in Las Vegas embraced the charismatic Brazilian during his Main Draw Elimination match against Wesley Moodie and were ecstatic when he pulled out a straight-set win to advance to the Round Robin. It will be exciting to see BB face Kuerten, but he first has to focus on his opening match with Hernych.

Friday, February 23, 2007
BB Falls to Roddick in Memphis

Similarly to the Karlovic match in San Jose, Roddick's serve was just too strong to overcome. After 77 minutes, Roddick came out on top 76 64. BB's last three ATP losses (to Blake, Karlovic and Roddick) have all come down one break of serve and some big tiebreaker points. He is close to making a breakthrough.

His next opportunity is at the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas. Stay tuned to BBtennis.com for highlights and updates.

Thursday, February 22, 2007
Becker To Face Roddick

BB defeated Robert Kendrick 26 63 64 to advance to the 2nd round of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis and a match with the tournament's top seed and World #4, Andy Roddick. BB and Roddick faced each other on Labor Day in the 4th Round of the US Open which Roddick won easily.

Below is what BB had to say about Kendrick, a talented player with a big serve who has risen almost as much as BB in the past year climbing from 330 to his current position of 84 since May.

"He just went for winners on every first ball," Becker said. "He hit a lot of winners without making any mistakes. I was waiting for him to make mistakes and he finally did in the second set."

This photo was taken by Mike Baz in Memphis

Monday, February 19, 2007
Another Monday...another Career High

Benjamin fell one match short of the finals for the second consecutive tournament, but when the new rankings were released today he climbed to 45...a new career high.

This week Benjamin is in Memphis for the Morgan Keegan Championships where he is once again making his debut appearance. Today BB and Igor Kunitsyin teamed up to defeated American veterans Paul Goldstein and Jim Thomas 62 62...Benjamin gets a much deserved day off tomorrow before facing American Robert Kendrick on Wednesday.

Attached is an article written by ESPN.com's Bonnie DeSimone that chronicles yet another former NCAA player, Philip King which shows just how difficult a task Becker has accomplished by climbing to the top 50 so fast after not competing professionally in his early 20's.

The aritcle also talks about BB and his new relationship with Boris Becker's new line of clothing. Although this deal doesn't officially commence until May, Becker is proudly wearing the classic tennis gear and has enjoyed solidifying a personal relationship with the legend.

Saturday, February 17, 2007
Becker dominates Safin to reach SAP semifinal

From the Tribune-Herald staff report:

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Benjamin Becker lost only 12 points on serve to beat former world No. 1 player Marat Safin, 6-4, 6-3, Friday and reach the semifinals of the $416,000 SAP Open tennis tournament.

The former Baylor all-American had 11 aces, lost only one point on his first serve and didn’t allow a break point against the Russian, who came from behind to win their only previous meeting last month in the first round of the Australian Open, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Becker, ranked 49th in the world, will face No. 103 Ivo Karlovic of Croatia today in the semis.

[...] Becker reached the semifinals for the second straight tournament, two weeks after losing to Blake at Delray Beach in Florida. He also reached the semis last October in Tokyo before losing to top-ranked Roger Federer.

[...] Becker will earn at least $19,750 and 75 ATP points for his semifinals appearance, enough to move up five spots on the ATP computer, and would jump into the Top 40 with a win today. ("Becker dominates Safin to reach SAP semifinal"[Click-2-Listen])

Friday, February 16, 2007
Becker faces Safin in Quarterfinal

BB pulls through against fellow German countrymen Bjorn Phau at the SAP Open in San Jose, CA. After defeating Phau in a tough three set match he now faces world #24 Marat Safin. Safin and Becker fought a tough five set match at the 2007 Australian Open where Safin prevailed. Becker looks to even the series between the two with a big win in the Quarterfinals.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Becker Site v2.0

The second generation of the Becker site was launched late last night. I've also added some photos by Guido Schröder in the photo gallery of Becker in Germany, as well as some of my photos of BB in Delray. Check it out!

Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Club BB Forum Launched

An alpha version of Becker's club has been launched with a forum. Sign up now and post a message.

Update (14.Feb.2007): The beta version has been launched.

Sunday, February 11, 2007
Germany Advances to 2nd Round

It wasn't the ideal Davis Cup debut for BB, but when you're on a team and the team wins...there is nothing to be ashamed about. Tommy Haas won two matches against top 10 players and Waske and Kohlmann snapped a record-long winning streak by the Croatian doubles players and Team Germany advanced to play Belgium in April.

BB lost in 4 sets on Friday to Ljubcic and in Sunday's dead rubber match he lost 64 16 61 to Marin Cilic. Cilic is one of the top up and coming players on the ATP Tour along with Juan Del Potro, Sam Querrey, Evgeny Korolev and Ernest Gulbis.

This was a big win for the German team as they have struggled in recent years in Davis Cup and Croatia won the entire competition in 2005. Congrats to the entire team and Happy Birthday to their Captain, Patrick Kuhnen.

BB returns to the USA for the SAP Open in San Jose where he is seeded and plays a qualifier in the first round.

Thursday, February 08, 2007
The Tennis Channel

BB is playing 2nd tomorrow vs. Ljubcic. Haas and Ancic start it off. The Tennis Channel is covering the event live at 8 AM

The Scoop

More TennisWeek coverage on BB!

Wednesday, February 07, 2007
German Interview Translated

As requested here is a translation of most of the interview we published earlier in the week.

Benjamin Becker absolutely proud to wear the German tracksuit

sid: "Did you expect the call from Patrik Kühnen to be nominated for the Davis Cup?"

Benjamin Becker: "No, absolutely not. Sure, I was hoping to be nominated, but when Patrick called, it was a kind of shocking surprise to me. But now I’m very happy and very proud!"

sid: "How do you feel with your new team?"

Becker: "Being a part of a team reminds me at my college years in Baylor. It was a strange but proud feeling, when I received my tracksuit on Monday with my name, the writing, Germany“ and the eagle."

sid: "What about your famous namesake Boris Becker. Did he influence you to start paying tennis?”

Becker: "Yes indeed! Boris was the reason why I started playing tennis. I was nine years old, when he played the Australian Open final against Ivan Lendl in 1991. I got up late at night to watch this match. The next morning, I tried to hit some balls in my parents garden. Just like Boris did the night before."

sid: "What about your technique? What is your biggest strength?"

Becker: "My forehand and I can set a lot of pressure on my adversary with my first serve – if it works! Concerning the Davis Cup: I´m a team player. Being part of something is a really motivating power!”

sid: "What are your personal goals fort he tennis season 2007?"

Becker: "I´m trying to go step by step. A big thing was entering the Top 50 and it already happened in Delray Beach, now I´m playing the Davis Cup. What more can I expect so far? Sure I would like to be a Top 10 player, but there are a lot of players who are planning the same as I do. So I have to work very hard – and I will!”

Tuesday, February 06, 2007
German Team Photo Shoot

BB took time out to do a photo shoot with his Davis Cup teammates today. Enjoy!

Becker Gains Respect of Blake and Fans

BB came up a little short on Saturday night against James Blake, but he showed everyone who was there (including Blake) that he is going to be a presence on the Tour for awhile. He stayed toe to toe with Blake's big forehand in rallies and made life very difficult for Blake during his service games. Unfortunately, BB could not convert on any of his numerous chances to break. Even with the missed opportunities Becker managed to find himself serving up 6-5 in the tiebreaker. He actually hit a huge first serve and played a solid aggressive point but Blake came up with some great defense to set up a forehand pass to save the set.

The semifinal result moved BB to 49 in the new ATP rankings. Last year at this time he was 402!!

Keep checking back as we will do our best to keep people updated from Davis Cup.

GERMAN: Interview with Becker on Davis Cup ("War regelrecht geschockt")

Benjamin Becker wird im Davis Cup gegen Kroatien sein Debüt für Deutschland geben. Im Interview spricht der 25-Jährige über seine überraschende Nominierung und seine Erwartungen an den ersten Einsatz. Zudem äußert sich Becker über die Chancen auf ein mögliches Erreichen des Viertelfinales.

Welche Erfahrungen haben Sie mit dem Davis Cup?
Becker: Ich habe überhaupt keine. Ich war noch nie bei einem Davis- Cup-Spiel - nicht einmal als Zuschauer. Und ich stand noch nie in einer deutschen Nationalmannschaft. Auch nicht in der Jugend.

Sind Sie aus allen Wolken gefallen, als Sie nominiert worden sind?
Becker: Ja natürlich. Ich war gerade auf dem Weg zum Training daheim in Florida und war regelrecht geschockt. Ich bin dann direkt ein bisschen übermotiviert ins Training gegangen. Patrik Kühnen hat mich gefragt, ob ich Lust habe. Da habe ich gelacht und gesagt: Na klar, super, danke. Ein Traum ist in Erfüllung gegangen.

Haben Sie mit Florian Mayer gesprochen, nachdem Sie ihm den Platz überraschend weggeschnappt haben?
Becker: Wir haben beim Turnier in Delray Beach zusammen trainiert. Aber über den Davis-Cup speziell haben wir uns nicht unterhalten. Es ist schade für Flo, dass er nicht dabei ist, obwohl er in Australien sehr gut gespielt hat.

Glauben Sie, dass Ihre Nervenstärke den Ausschlag gegeben hat?
Becker: Ich weiß nicht. Ich habe natürlich einige enge Spiele gehabt, wie zum Beispiel das bei den US Open gegen Andre Agassi, die mich mental sehr viel weiter gebracht haben. Da habe ich gezeigt, dass ich mich ganz und gar auf das Tennis konzentrieren kann und nicht auf das Drumherum. Kann sein, dass das ein Argument war.

War das Agassi-Match der wahre Beginn Ihrer Profi-Karriere?
Becker: Für viele war das der Anfangspunkt meiner Karriere, weil ich da das erste Mal auf einer größeren Bühne gespielt habe. Da haben mich einige Leute zum ersten Mal wahrgenommen; sie kennen jetzt meinen Namen. Aber das war nicht unbedingt die Stunde null.

Wären Sie früher nominiert worden, hätten Sie dann auf einen Turnierstart in Übersee in der Woche vor dem Davis Cup verzichtet?
Becker: Schwer zu sagen. Mein Turnierplan stand schon lange fest. Aber wir haben immer noch eine Woche, uns gut vorzubereiten. Das sollte reichen, weil wir es gewohnt sind, die Zeitzonen zu wechseln und uns schnell umzustellen.

Welche Erfahrungen haben Sie mit den Kroaten?
Becker: Ivan Ljubicic und Mario Ancic sind absolute Weltklasse. Ich habe nur einmal gegen Ljubicic gespielt und mit ihm trainiert. Deshalb kenne ich ihn ein bisschen. In Bangkok, das war auch in der Halle, habe ich im vergangenen Jahr 6:7, 5:7 verloren. Dabei hätte ich den ersten Satz gewinnen müssen nach 6:4 im Tiebreak.

Was erwarten Sie von Ihrem Davis-Cup-Debüt?
Becker: Ich hoffe, das zweite Einzel bestreiten zu dürfen. Dass ich gut spielen und die Energie von den Zuschauern mitnehmen kann. Und natürlich, dass ich gewinnen kann.

Wie groß sehen Sie die Chance, das Viertelfinale zu erreichen?
Becker: Wir sind krasse Außenseiter. Das weiß wohl jeder. Aber wir spielen zu Hause, haben die Zuschauer im Rücken, da kann viel passieren. Und wir haben einen Tommy Haas im Team, der in Australien bis zum Halbfinale unglaublich gespielt hat. Tommy ist einer der besten Spieler der Welt. Der kann an einem guten Tag jeden schlagen. Wenn alle in Topform spielen, sehe ich unsere Chancen.

Saturday, February 03, 2007
BB to Face Blake in Semis

James Blake and Benjamin Becker, proud college tennis alumni, each won quarterfinal matches in Delray Beach on Friday, setting up a semifinal showdown Saturday.

BB is all over Tennisweek.com. With his recent profile by Richard Pagliaro, the announcement of his debut in Davis Cup, and his excellent run to the semis of the International Tennis Championships in Delray, he is hogging the spotlight...that is fine with us.

Joshua Rey of Tennisweek does a nice job promoting the fact that Blake and Becker are the best former NCAA players on the Tour, and how more and more players who played college tennis are doing well on the Tour. This is a great advertisement for college programs around the country.

As the 4th seed in this event BB successfully held his seed and while Blake is playing top 5 tennis, BB has nothing to lose and is already assured of being in the top 50 when the new rankings are released Monday.

One thing is for sure, those who are in attendance will be treated to some high quality and entertaining tennis on Saturday night.

GERMAN: Becker Chosen for Davis Cup ("Kühnen nominiert seinen Kader")

Die deutsche Nationalmannschaft will mit Thomas Haas und Benjamin Becker im Einzel die schwere Auftakthürde in der Daviscup-Weltgruppe gegen Kroatien (9. bis 11. Februar) meistern. Das Doppel sollen laut Kapitän Patrick Kühnen Alexander Waske und Michael Kohlmann spielen.

Eine Überraschung ist Kühnen damit gelungen. "Ich war regelrecht geschockt", erzählte Benjamin Becker von dem Moment, als ihn der Teamchef fragte, ob er Lust habe, zum Auftakt der Weltgruppe dabei zu sein. "Da habe ich gelacht und gesagt: Na klar, super, danke. Ein Traum ist in Erfüllung gegangen."

"Das ist jetzt das Team, mit dem wir die größten Chancen gegen den Champion von 2005 haben", betonte Kühnen und fügte an: "Es kann aber auch sein, dass Tommy Haas zum Einsatz kommt", erklärte Kühnen. Kroatiens Teamchef Goran Prpic nominierte derweil neben seinen Weltstars Ljubicic und Ancic den baumlangen Ivo Karlovic und Nachwuchshoffnung Marin Cilic.
Dass wieder ein Becker in der deutschen Daviscup-Mannschaft steht, verblüffte selbst den Weltverband ITF. Auf der offiziellen Internetseite fehlt das Konterfei des in Florida lebenden Saarländers, der im vorigen Herbst bei den US Open die grandiose Karriere des Amerikaners Andre Agassi mit einem Sieg in der dritten Runde beendet hatte. Den Ausschlag dafür, dass ihm Kühnen den Vorzug vor Florian Mayer gegeben hat, waren allerdings die guten Ergebnisse des vergangenen halben Jahres.

"Von seiner Spielweise her ist er der richtige Mann gegen Kroatien", meinte Kühnen. Gelassen reagierte der Teamchef darauf, dass seine Kandidaten ausnahmslos in der Woche vor dem Daviscup noch im Turniereinsatz sind - Haas, Becker und Philipp Kohlschreiber sogar in Übersee. Das hatte zuletzt für Ärger gesorgt. "Man muss das von Fall zu Fall betrachten", sagte Kühnen. Und der 25-jährige Becker meinte: "Wir haben immer noch eine Woche, uns gut vorzubereiten. Das sollte reichen, weil wir es gewohnt sind, die Zeitzonen zu wechseln und uns schnell umzustellen."

Auf dem Hartplatz in der Eishalle der Krefeld Pinguine wollen die deutschen Spieler nicht ausrutschen. Auf dem Papier freilich sind die deutschen Tennis-Asse bei den Spielen, die am Freitag der kommenden Woche um 13.45 Uhr beginnen, nur Außenseiter. "Aber die Papierform gilt häufig nicht. Im Daviscup ist alles möglich", sagte Niki Pilic. Als einziger Kapitän schaffte es der 67-Jährige mit zwei Nationalmannschaften Daviscupsieger zu werden. 1988, 1989 und 1993 mit Deutschland und 2005 mit Kroatien.

Friday, February 02, 2007
TennisWeek article

Richard Pagliaro interviewed Benjamin this week after he was officially named to the German Davis Cup team...Pagliaro always does interesting profiles of players on Tour, and certainly this interview did not disappoint. The questions are good and BB's answers are on point...Enjoy!