THIS WEEK’S GUEST on Behind the Lines is Henry Mance, chief features writer for the Financial Times.
Behind the Lines is The 42′s sportswriting podcast, where host Gavin Cooney interviews sportswriters about their career and their favourite writing. For more information, and to gain instant access to a 100-plus episode back catalogue featuring some of the biggest names in sports journalism, click here.
As chief features writer with the FT, Mance’s brief includes interviews with public figures as diverse as politician Nigel Farage and astronaut Tim Peake.
But perhaps one of his best contemporary pieces came in the form of an eight-hour day spent in the presence of former tennis superstar Boris Becker.
Becker was one of the most dominant players of the late 1980s and early 1990s, winning six Grand Slam titles, but returned to the headlines in 2022 when he was found guilty of hiding assets during bankruptcy proceedings and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail. He was released after eight months and deported from the UK.
In spite of this, Mance told Gavin Cooney that Becker’s court case and jail time may actually help to revive his name.
“The story of how he was declared bankrupt is a long story,” Mance said. “It’s a sad story, but part of it was that his income fell.
“Once there started to be negative stories about him, his income start to fall. He’s got four kids, he’s got family commitments. People didn’t want to be associated with him so much, I think, brands.”
“Whereas now, yeah, I mean maybe people love redemption? Maybe there’s an arc you can go on which is easier for brands to get on board with.”
Becker burst onto the scene when he became the youngest ever Wimbledon champion at just 17 years old, and he went on to be one of the most dominant players in what many consider to be the golden age of tennis.
He would have battles with John McEnroe, Pat Cash, Andre Agassi and Ivan Lendl as he fell just shy of a career Grand Slam.
While others consider the modern-day rivalry of Federer/Nadal/Djokovic to be the golden era, there’s a key difference according to Mance.
“Him and various players, who we now see as being chummy in the commentary box, really disliked each other: him and McEnroe, him and Pat Cash, I expect him and Lendl, although I don’t know how chummy they are now.”
“But they were really aggressive, and I think that’s what made it an amazing spectacle.
“That’s what makes a lot of tennis now – as he says in the piece – hard to get on board with.
“It doesn’t feel as personal. It doesn’t feel as though Rublev really wants to have a go at Djokovic, or really feels he could have a go.”
Listen to the full interview with Henry Mance by subscribing to The42 here.
