Boris Becker appears desperate to rid himself of his financial problems. Currently, over 80 items from his personal collection, including a Golden Camera, a Bambi award and a replica of a Wimbledon trophy, are on display at the Knapp gallery in London.

They are then to be auctioned off on June 28, at the directive of Becker's British bankruptcy trustee, Mark Ford.

Becker's US Open trophy has received the highest bid until now, with some €17,200 ($19,800) offered Wednesday evening. His German Bambi Award from 1985 has received a bid around €2,000, while his Golden Camera from 1989 has garnered a €1,300 bid.

The former tennis pro has been wracked by financial burdens for years, culminating in a London court last year declaring Becker bankrupt. His insolvency proceedings were due to end this week, but have been extended until the end of July, Becker told Top Magazin Frankfurt on Tuesday.

In another desperate bid last week, the three-time Wimbledon champion sought diplomatic immunity from the bankruptcy proceedings in Britain, citing his appointment as a sports attache for the Central African Republic in April.

However, the African country said a diplomatic passport Becker was holding is a fake.

Still, 50-year-old Becker insisted in a filmed interview in Germany that "it is a fact that I am, today, a diplomat" of the Central African Republic.

Mixed bag

Becker shot to fame as Germany's Grand Slam winning poster boy in 1985 when he was just 17. He remains the youngest champion at Wimbledon. But his off-court indiscretions since then have not always endeared him to the public: They include a broom closet romp with a model while his first wife was pregnant, a tax evasion trial and a string of failed businesses.

Though Becker ultimately won six Grand Slam trophies, amassing more than $25 million in prize money, costly settlements of his various romantic entanglements, including divorce, have whittled his wealth away.

A series of business ventures have also proved unsuccessful, including an internet organic food firm and the Becker Tower in Dubai.

At the end of May, it was announced that Becker and his second wife, Dutch model Sharlely "Lilly" Kerssenberg, would separate. 

als/eg  (dpa, AFP)