After Dinner Speakers: Boris Becker, Harvey Smith, Paul Nicholas

Tennis player Becker was born in Leiman, West Germany in 1967, son of an architect. A three-time West Germany junior champion (1982-84) renowned for his powerful, often acrobatic serve-and-volley game, he gained notice in 1985 when, at 17, he became the youngest man to win Wimbledon. He repeated wins there in 1986 and 1989 and led West Germany to Davis Cup victories in 1988 and 1989, as well as winning the U.S. (1989) and Australian (1991, 1996) opens. The 34-year-old has won 50 singles titles, including six Grand Slams and two ATP Tour championships, and 17 doubles titles during his career, amassing more than $24m in prize money and achieving world number one status in 1991. He married wife Barbara in 1993 with whom he had two sons, Noah Gabriel and Elias Balthasar before they separated in 2000. Since retiring from the tennis circuit in 1999 he has launched a sports marketing agency, played a part in Germany’s successful bid to stage the 2006 football World Cup and has publicly backed campaigns to combat xenophobia and anti-Semitism in his country. Boris Becker – one of the most magnetic personalities in world sport.