acirc;euro;tilde;Split was my worst defeatacirc;euro;trade;

BERLIN, FEBRUARY 4: Boris Becker has described the much-publicised separation from his wife as the worst defeat he ever had to concede.ac...

BERLIN, FEBRUARY 4: Boris Becker has described the much-publicised separation from his wife as the worst defeat he ever had to concede.acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;I have no problem in saying that I have lost a game because thereacirc;euro;trade;s always another one coming,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; the three-times Wimbledon champion, who sealed a multi-million divorce from German-Amerian actress Barbara Feltus recently, told German weekly Der Spiegel.

acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;I could never have imagined that I would go through a separation and that I could only see the two children and the wife whom I love every two or three weeks,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; the former World number one said in a long interview released ahead of on publication Monday. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;Thatacirc;euro;trade;s why I say that I have lost and itacirc;euro;trade;s the biggest of all defeats.

acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;Yes, I am afraid,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; he added. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;I am afraid for my children because they have to go through a situation that neither their mother nor their father can control.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; The German, who has been on the front page of the local newspapers almost daily for the past few weeks, faces another wave of media attention after allegations from a London-based Russian-born model that he is the father of her baby.

acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;I donacirc;euro;trade;t want to say anything on that for legal reasons,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; said Becker, who underwent a paternity test in London to clear up the report. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;There is an ongoing investigation and I will only say more once we have the result of the test,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; he told Der Spiegel.

After the baby story broke, Becker said he had talked about it with Barbara. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;The weekend when the subject surfaced was not easy,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; he said. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;I had to explain the whole problem to Barbara. She reacted well. acirc;euro;tilde;She was informed from the start. We played an open game and the matter was not the reason for our separation.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;More headlines followed after Becker confirmed last Monday that he had started a romance with rap singer Sabrina Setlur, who was once voted Germanyacirc;euro;trade;s acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;most erotic woman.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;

Becker, whose seven-year marriage with Feltus attracted constant media attention, admitted he had make mistakes. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;My own attitude was not always 100 per cent correct,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; he said.

The 33-year-old, whose romance with Barbara started two years before they were married, said the two had enjoyed a happy marriage. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;From the nine years that we spent together, we had seven of innocence. Those years were the happiest of my life.

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acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;For years there were no stories or rumours about us. We were a perfect team, from A to Z.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;

Barbaraacirc;euro;trade;s desire to focus on her own career and the pairacirc;euro;trade;s lifestyle were some of the reasons behind the separation, he said.

acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;Our house was always full, party here and party there,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; he said. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;What had made us so strong got lost, more and more. Suddenly there were people between us. I donacirc;euro;trade;t want to have anybody between me an my wife.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;

Becker, who burst into the limelight by winning Wimbledon as a 17-year-old in 1985 and retired from competitive tennis in 1999, said he looked back with nostalgia to the time when he could concentrate on hitting the ball. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;I can think about times when life was a lot simpler than it is today,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; he said.

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He said the overwhelming domination of American rival Pete Sampras was the main reason why he had stopped playing.

acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;I knew I would never be the number one again,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; he said. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;Even if I would play at my best, Pete Sampras would still be better. So why go on?acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;