Becker but not Becker

Benjamin Becker (born June 16, 1981 in Merzig, Saarland, Germany) is a professional tennis player.

Becker is not related to former World No. 1 Boris Becker. He won the 2004 NCAA singles title while helping Baylor University to the team title.

In June 2006, he qualified for Wimbledon and defeated Juan Ignacio Chela before losing in the second round to Fernando Verdasco.

At the 2006 U.S. Open, he defeated Filippo Volandri and #30 seed Sébastien Grosjean to reach the third round. On September 3, he defeated Andre Agassi 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5 at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Agassi, who had announced the Open would be his final tournament, received an 8-minute standing ovation after the match, which Becker participated in. Becker was defeated the next day by Andy Roddick in the fourth round.

The 2006 U.S. Open sparked Benjamin to become a household name on the ATP Tour. Not only did he defeat the poster boy of the United States of America tennis, Andre Agassi, but he began his tear up the rankings. At the start of 2006, Becker was ranked #421. One year later he has moved all the way to #38 and continues his rise with every tournament.

The 2007 season has been quite a year so far for Benjamin. In reaching his first semi-final appearance in the ATP event held in Delray Beach International Tennis Championships he lost to world #8 James Blake. This match could not have been tighter as it was Blake who won 79 total points to Benjamin's 78 total points. The other semi-final appearance in 2007 was in San Jose at the SAP Open where Becker lost to the tallest man on the ATP Tour (6'10") Ivo Karlovic.

At the end of 2006 Benjamin was awarded Sportsman of the Year in his part of the country. Germany has treated Benjamin with great respect and believes he is part of a new generation of rising stars for German Tennis. Becker's proudest moment this year would have to be representing Germany in the 3-2 victory of a Davis Cup tie against the 2005 Davis Cup Champions Croatia. This tie was very important for Benjamin as it was his unveiling of the Boris Becker tennis clothing line. Boris has been a long time hero of Benjamin as he watched him become an icon not only in Germany but throughout the tennis world. Germany's next tie will be against Belgium on April 6-8, 2007 at the Sleuyter Arena in Ostend, Belgium.


2006 Newcomer of the Year

The 2006 ATP Awards were handed out on March 26, 2007. The Newcomer of the Year was awarded to Benjamin Becker. After completing his first season on the ATP Tour, Benjamin made the fastest rise of any player into the top 50. Climbing 419 positions from the following year solidified this Newcomer of the Year to be the next standout player.


Becker has also played a match against Jiří Novák in Tokyo that finished at 3:24 a.m., making it the latest finish to a match in ATP history.


Becker's primary weapon is a very big serve that he can hit in the 140's (mph).

Highlights

Semifinalist at the ATP San Jose Event

Semifinalist at the ATP Delray Beach Event

Semifinalist at the ATP Tokyo Event

Won the Salinas Challenger Tournament

Winner of Two Canadian Futures Events

Winner of the Singles & Doubles Waco, TX Futures Event

Winner of Laguna Niguel Futures Event

Winner of the Toronto Doubles Futures Event.

Wimbledon 2007 tv schedule

Date Time Round Channel
June 24 2:30 PM Preview Show ESPN2
June 25 2:30 - 3:00 PM Preview Show NBC
June 25 7:00 AM (Live) Early Round ESPN2
June 26 2:00 - 4:00 AM (Highlights) Early Round ESPN2
June 26 7:00 AM (Live) Early Round ESPN2
June 27 1:00 - 4:00 AM (Highlights) Early Round ESPN2
June 27 7:00 AM (Live) Early Round ESPN2
June 27 7:00 PM (Highlights) Early Round ESPN2
June 28 1:30 AM (Highlights) Early Round ESPN2
June 28 7:00 AM (Live) Early Round ESPN2
June 28 9:00 PM (Highlights) Early Round ESPN2
June 29 2:00 AM (Highlights) Early Round ESPN2
June 29 7:00 AM (Live) Early Round ESPN2
June 29 7:30 PM (Highlights) Early Round ESPN2
June 30 1:30 AM (Highlights) Early Round ESPN2
June 30 8:00 AM (Live) Early Round ESPN2
June 30 3:00 PM (Live) Early Round ESPN2
June 30 8:00 PM (Highlights) Early Round ESPN2
July 1 2:00 AM (Highlights) Early Round ESPN2
July 1 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM (Live) Early Round NBC
July 1 5:00 PM (Highlights) Early Round ESPN2
July 2 1:00 AM (Highlights) Early Round ESPN2

Date Time Round Channel
July 2 7:00 AM (Live) Round of 16 ESPN2
July 2 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM (Delay) Round of 16 NBC
July 2 4:00 PM (Delay) Round of 16 ESPN2
July 2 7:30 PM (Highlights) Round of 16 ESPN2
July 3 1:30 AM (Highlights) Round of 16 ESPN2
July 3 7:00 AM (Live) Round of 16 ESPN2
July 3 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM (Live) Women's QF NBC
July 3 1:00 PM (Live) Women's QF ESPN2
July 3 7:00 PM (Highlights) Women's QF ESPN2
July 3 11:35 PM - 11:50 PM (Highlights) Women's QF NBC
July 4 1:00 AM (Highlights) Women's QF ESPN2
July 4 7:00 AM (Live) Men's QF ESPN2
July 4 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM (Live) Men's QF NBC
July 4 1:00 PM (Live) Men's QF ESPN2
July 4 7:00 PM (Highlights) Men's QF ESPN2
July 4 11:35 PM - 11:50 PM (Highlights) Men's QF NBC
July 5 1:00 AM (Highlights) Men's QF ESPN2
July 5 7:00 AM (Live) Women's SF ESPN2
July 5 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM (Live) Women's SF NBC
July 5 10:00 PM (Highlights) Women's SF ESPN2
July 5 11:35 PM - 11:50 PM (Highlights) Women's SF NBC
July 6 3:00 AM (Highlights) Women's SF ESPN2
July 6 7:00 AM (Live) Men's SF ESPN2
July 6 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Live) Men's SF NBC
July 6 11:35 PM - 11:50 PM (Highlights) Men's SF NBC
July 7 12:30 AM (Highlights) Men's SF ESPN2
July 7 3:00 AM (Highlights) Men's SF ESPN2
July 7 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM (Live) Women's Final NBC
July 7 2:00 PM (SportsCenter) Women's Final ESPN2
July 7 11:35 PM - 11:50 PM (Highlights) Women's Final NBC
July 8 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM (Live) Men's Final NBC
July 8 3:00 PM (SportsCenter) Men's Final ESPN2

Wimbledon 2007

Wimbledon 2007: Women's Top 10 Preview
[1] Justine Henin BEL. The 6-time Grand Slam champion (Roland Garros 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007; Australian Open 2004; U.S. Open 2003) is trying to win her first Grand Slam title in London despite making the final twice (losing to Venus Williams in 2001 and Mauresmo last year). My prediction at Roland Garros was that whomever won the Henin-S. Williams quarterfinal would most likely win the tournament, and I believe the same thing applies on the grass courts of Wimbledon. So does Jon Wertheim, calling the Henin-Williams Wimbledon quarterfinal the "de facto final." Serena didn't show up for that Paris showdown, however it is very unlikely these two steely competitors will have two "dud" matches in a row. This time the American will prevail. Quarterfinalist.

[2] Maria Sharapova RUS. Sharapova has salvaged her annus horribilis by making her first Roland Garros semifinal by winning a match that Patty Schnyder refused to win. As the site of her first major breakthrough, Sharapova is comfortable on the green stuff, but there's no question her serve and strokes are not as powerful as the 17-year old who stunned Serena Williams in 2004. This time it is likely that the woman who took out the defending champion in 2005 on her way to winning a 3rd Wimbledon title will bounce Sharapova from the tournament: Venus Williams in the 4th round. Fourth Round.

[3] Jelena Jankovic SRB. Many, many tennis watchers think Jelena simply plays too much tennis! But, hey, if she hates to practice and it works for her I say keep on doing what ya been doin'. She has the game and the confidence to go very far in this tournament. However, if she really doesn't get past people like Lucie Safarova or Shahar Pe'er like others have predicted then she should take a month off competitive tennis before getting back on the grind for the U.S. Open Series. Yeah, right. Semi-Finalist.

[4] Amelie Mauresmo FRA. I saw this year's Eastbourne Final and many observers are reading too much into Henin's 3rd set tiebreak win (despite Mauresmo serving for the match at 5-4). Since Mauresmo hasn't played that much tennis this year due to her appendix removal, I think it was incredibly important that she show Henin that she could hang with her on grass, and the Frenchwoman did that, for three sets of very close, beautiful grass court tennis. The defending champion also had a beautiful draw. I believe that Eastbourne result is more helpful to Mauresmo's chances than Henin's. We'll see. Semifinalist or Finalist.

[5] Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS. The "most talented of the Russians" is unfortunately also the most mentally fragile. She has the game to win this title and I would be shocked if she doesn't do exactly that within the next 5 years. However, 2007 will not be her year. Quarterfinalist or earlier.

[6] Ana Ivanovic SRB. The pulchritudinous Serb teen is having a fabulous 2007, making her first Grand Slam final last month in Paris and winning her second Tier 1 title a few weeks before that in Berlin. She has an all-court game and should be able to get deep in the draw but I doubt she will live up to her seeding and make the quarterfinal with Mauresmso. Fourth round or earlier.

[7] Serena Williams USA. As usual, the Williamses have to do things their own way. No grass court preparation prior to Wimbledon? We'll just play doubles instead! A chance at seeing Venus and Serena Williams on the court together will at the very least provide a compelling reason for people to shell out for Wimbledon's online streaming video coverage. Serena Williams hates to lose and I am sure that she has been thinking about that quarterfinal loss to Henin in Paris every single day as a motivator for off the court training. We'll see the results during the beginning of the second week when Wimbledon schedules all four Ladies' quarterfinals on the same day. And this time the Real Serena Williams will show up. Quarterfinalist or Champion.

[8] Anna Chakvetadze RUS. Four titles from her first four Sony Ericsson WTA Tour final apperances is impressive and I like this Russian's chances against anyone whose last name is not -Ova or Williams. Maybe we should start adding "-vic" to that list. I don't like Anna's chances of getting past Jankovic in the quarters if she does manage to get past a wily Hingis in the 4th round (which is doubtful). Fourth Round or Quarterfinalist.

[9] Martina Hingis SUI. "Chucky" has been winning titles at Wimbledon since she was a tween. She knows how to play on grass and she's wily enough to win a lot of matches she should lose. However, she can be overpowered and it is likely Jelena Jankovic, Anna Chakvetadze or even Sybille Bammer can take her out. Quarterfinalist or earlier.

[10] Daniela Hantuchova SVK. Congratulations to Daniela for making a return to the Top 10 after an inauspiciously long absence. She even won another title (her second!) at the Pacific Life Open this year. She clearly has been working hard and it shows. Unfortunately, she's in Serena Williams quarter of the draw and I don't like Hantuchova's chances against a Serena who has just come off wins against Samantha Stosur and Anastasia Rodionova. 4th Round.