Roger Becker
Cabbie’s son who was picked for Britain’s Davis Cup side at 18 and became a tennis star of the 1950s
ROGER BECKER, who has died aged 83, transcended his working-class roots to become a top British tennis player of the 1950s, an early recruit to the professional tour and a successful property developer.
Renowned for his wit and friendliness off-court, and his occasional outbursts on it, he was one of the most popular players of the generation that included Bobby Wilson, Mike Davis, John Barrett and Mike Sangster. He later acknowledged that his never-saydie attitude was forged by his background, joking that if he hadn’t excelled at tennis, he would have been a dustman.
The younger son of a cabbie, Roger Becker was born on February 6 1934 and brought up in a tiny terrace house in Croydon. A strong, wiry boy, he showed all-round sporting talent as soon as he could walk, excelling at ball-games, and was scouted by Crystal Palace.
However, when a friend took him to try tennis, aged 14, at his local club in Croydon, he discovered his sporting passion. After a few rallies with a borrowed racket, he was hooked, and began playing obsessively every day and entering local tournaments.
In those amateur days there was little formal organisation at grass-roots level and no sponsorship for promising young players. But after a string of victories over highly rated opposition, the Lawn Tennis Association found Becker a coach who channelled his natural talent into an unorthodox but highly effective game.
His parents encouraged his newfound interest, but his mother was too nervous to watch his matches in person, unable to bear seeing him lose. He told the story of the day she turned off the television in despair as he went 4-1 down in the final set at a Surbiton tournament. When he returned home, she commiserated. “What do you mean, lost? I beat him 6-4,” he replied.
His Surrey compatriots Tony Mottram and Geoff Paish had been the backbone of the British team for the Davis Cup international championship since the mid-1940s. But Becker’s rapid rise through the ranks amazed the tennis establishment. In 1951 he reached the final of the national Junior Championships at the All England Club only to be thrashed by the 15-year-old Bobby Wilson. Undeterred, Becker kept training hard and the following year, aged 18, he became the youngest man to be picked for the British Davis Cup side, a record that stood for 53 years until the 17-year-old Andy Murray received his call-up in 2005.
Becker’s periodic run-ins with the selectors led to several spells in the wilderness. Once, incensed by an opponent’s line calls, Becker strode up to the net, declared: “If you’re that desperate to win, you can have the match”, and walked off.
Becker, none the less, posted an impressive record of 11 wins out of 17 in the 10 Davis Cup matches he contested up to 1960, 10 of them in singles. He also starred in the powerful Surrey county side for more than two decades.
In 1953 he honed his game on an eventful tour of Australia, Malaya and Pakistan with his close friend John Barrett, coping with everything from sandstorms to stomach upsets. The pair even survived a near-miss when an aeroplane – overloaded with film equipment plus Ava Gardner and Stewart Granger en route to film Bhowani Junction in Pakistan – only achieved lift-off a few yards before the end of the runway.
Becker won several tournaments during two years of National Service at RAF Uxbridge, and just five days after demob in 1954 sensationally upset the brilliant young Wimbledon doubles champion Lew Hoad at Edgbaston. Although he never got beyond the third round of the Wimbledon singles, he and Bob Howe reached the doubles semifinal in 1957, losing to the Americans Gardner Mulloy and Budge Patty. He was overjoyed in 1980 when he and Bobby Wilson won the Wimbledon Invitation Over-45s doubles.
In 1958 Becker married Shirley Malkin, later a Cadbury’s Flake girl, and they emerged from the church beneath an archway of his British team-mates’ rackets. Becker controversially chose his honeymoon over tennis and withdrew from the forthcoming Davis Cup tie, leaving his replacement Tony Pickard, 23, with the same dilemma. Pickard, due to be married two days later, did postpone his honeymoon.
When the Beckers’ two children, Marcus and Susanne, were born in the early 1960s, Becker turned professional to provide for his family. He played worldwide tournaments and exhibitions on the fledgling tour, winning two British professional championships and coaching the Egyptian and Spanish Davis Cup sides.
In 1978 he coached the British team, including Buster Mottram and John Lloyd, to a stunning victory over the Australians in the semi-finals, though they lost to America in the final. His celebrity pupils included King Constantine of Greece, Albert Finney, Sue Barker and Elton John.
A shrewd businessman, Becker acquired a large property portfolio and bought a splendid house in Croydon with grounds including a tennis court and pitch-and-putt course. He was soon a one-handicap golfer.
Roger Becker is survived by his wife and children.
Roger Becker, born February 6 1934, died November 5 2017