On July 7, 1985 a 17-year-old, unseeded Boris Becker became an overnight star, defeating Kevin Curren to win the men's final at Wimbledon. He remains the youngest player to win at Wimbledon. He went on to defend his title in 1986, beating Ivan Lendl in the final, before winning it for a third time in 1989 when he overcame Stefan Edberg.

Before Boris Becker came along, Germany had never won the Davis Cup, This changed in 1988 when Becker and Carl-Uwe Steeb won their doubles match over then-world No. 1 Mats Wilander and reigning Wimbledon champion Stefan Edberg. Becker was also part of the German teams that won the Davis Cup in 1989 and 1993.

In 1990, Becker was named German male athlete of the year for a fourth time. His high-pressure and flexible game was best suited to fast surfaces particularly indoors and on grass. His was a serve-and-volley player and the fans loved him for his specialty, an acrobatic diving volley.

Becker got off to a perfect start in the 1991 season, winning the Australian Open and reaching the top of the men's singles rankings for the first time. The German won a total of 49 singles titles in his career, including six Grand Slams. The French Open, however, eluded him.

At the Barcelona Summer Olympics in 1992, both Becker and his German rival Michael Stich (above, left) were eliminated early from the men's singles. However, they combined to win gold in the men's doubles. "We didn't really talk to each other at all between the rallies," Becker would later say. "We really didn't like each other."

In late 1993 Becker married German-American actress and designer Barbara Feltus. Six years later, she and the rest of the world learned of his broom-closet affair with Russian model Angela Ermakova. The affair produced Becker's third child and led to his 2001 divorce from Barbara.

Boris Becker's last match as a professional tennis player was his defeat to Australia's Patrick Rafter in the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 1999. Becker's career took a high physical toll on him. He has been quoted as saying that "I have two new hips and a 10-centimeter-long (six inches) metal plate in my right ankle, and I have a slight limp."

In 2002, Becker was convicted of evading €1.7 million ($1.9 million) in tax and handed a two-year suspended sentence. The judge had found that although Becker, like many other wealthy celebrities, officially resided in Monaco between 1991 and 1993, he actually spent the bulk of his time in Munich.

In 2007, Becker found himself back in court as the owner of 60 percent of the shares in a company called Sportgate, which had gone bankrupt several years earlier. This time he got off easy, with the judges ordering him to pay just €114,000, far less than creditors had originally demanded.

In 2009, Becker married again, making Sharlely Kerssenberg of the Netherlands his second wife. She is the mother of his fourth child, Amadeus Benedict Edley Luis. They split their time between London and Zurich.

At the end of 2013 most were surprised by the news that Boris Becker had just become Novak Djokovic's new coach. The Serbian, who at the time was the world No. 2, hired Becker in the hope that he could be of particular help with the mental side of his game. Under his German coach, Djokovic went on to return to the No. 1 spot in 2014.

Djokovic and Becker formed a successful partnership, with the Serbian winning six Grand Slam titles under the German's tutelage. It all fell apart in late 2016 though. Becker pointed to a lack of intensity in training as the reason for Djokovic's dip in form. It has also been said that he didn't feel comfortable with the influence on the Serbian of a Spanish spiritual guru.

On June 21, 2017, a London court declared Boris Becker bankrupt after a private bank went to court over a "substantial" sum he owed them. The registrar found that there was a lack of credible evidence the amount would be paid anytime soon. Becker has rejected the notion, telling the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung that he was "neither insolvent, nor bankrupt."

All through his ups and downs, Boris Becker has remained the face of men's tennis in Germany. In August 2017, the German tennis federation (DTB) has named him to the newly created post of "head of tennis." In his new role, he is to manage all German men's tennis and oversee the running of the country's Davis Cup team. Barbara Rittner was given a similar role for the women.

Becker, seen here at the 2017 ATP Finals in London, refused to answer when asked by a reporter to say how he planned to celebrate his 50th birthday. "This is a private matter that I will not comment on," he said. In a German television documentary, Becker seemed satisfied with his lot in life. "When I look back at my life... I think, then I have gotten more things right than wrong," he said.

Boris Becker is rather known as a bon vivant, but the tennis star is also the author of a parenting guide. In "Was Kinder stark macht" (What makes children strong), from 2007, he wrote about his love for the three children he already had at the time. However, the book is more for fans than for worried parents; critics didn't consider the work to be very serious.

Speaking of children, whoever believed the Becker kids would follow in their dad's footsteps are wrong. None of them can play tennis that well. The oldest son, 23-year-old Noah, (pictured) is a DJ and artist, Elias (18) collects likes on Instagram, his daughter Anna (17) is a successful model and his youngest son, Amadeus, hopes to become a policeman some day.

Vanity is an essential step to healthy self-confidence, Boris Becker once said. That's why he takes extra good care of his appearance. This includes not only a collection of expensive fine-tailored suits, but also some serious body hygiene: He claims to take three showers a day. After all, his body is his main resource, he explained.

There are presumably a few little boys born in the 1980s or 90s named Boris after the famous tennis star. One researcher even gave his name to a new species. In 1996, biologist Manfred Parth discovered a species of sea snail and officially named it a few years later "Bufonaria borisbeckeri."

"Boom-boom Boris" was one of Boris Becker's many nicknames, as the tennis wunderkind was renowned for his ferocious serves. A German ice cream company had the name trademarked after his Wimbledon win in 1985. In Germany, the "Bum Bum," which has the shape of a tennis racket and a chewing gum stick, is legendary to this day.