Do we really need the new biographies of Boris Becker and Novak Djokovic?

Von Büchern lässt sich einiges lernen. Zum Beispiel, wie relativ die Bezeichnung „neu“ ist. So wirkt mancher Gedanke, wenn er endlich in gedruckter Form erscheint, von der Aktualität überholt. Blickt man auf die Shortlists von Buchpreisen, finden sich dort mitunter Romane, die schon im Herbst des Vorjahres erschienen sind. Obendrein findet sich in den Verlagsprogrammen mitunter Frischgedrucktes, das im Grunde wenig Neues bietet, was aber dezent verschwiegen wird. Hierbei handelt es sich nicht zuletzt um Biographien von Sportstars, die es längst in englischer Sprache gibt und nun für eine deutsche Leserschaft übersetzt wurden. Hoffen die Verlage doch, von dem ewigen Kult um die Stars zu profitieren.

Der Verlag Edel Sports hat eine Übersetzung des Buches „Michael Jordan: The Life“ von Roland Lazenby veröffentlicht, das im Original schon vor mehr als zehn Jahren erschienen ist und auf Deutsch nun den Titel „Michael Jordan: Die Biografie“ trägt (768 Seiten, 34 Euro). Das Neue daran ist eigentlich nur, dass in der Zwischenzeit auf Netflix die Serie „The Last Dance“ lief, die an den Aufstieg der Basketballlegende Jordan und der Chicago Bulls erinnert und damit die öffentliche Aufmerksamkeit mal wieder stärker auf das NBA-Team und seinen einstigen Ausnahmekönner gelenkt hat.

Die Frage, was es Neues gibt, stellt sich auch bei der x-ten Biographie, die das Leben eines Triple-A-Promis auszuleuchten und seine Sportlerkarriere zu analysieren verspricht. Im Falle von Boris Becker, im Tennis als Spieler groß geworden und nach jahrelangen Irrläufen auf dem Boulevard als TV-Experte zum Tennis zurückgekehrt, scheint eigentlich jeder Lebenswandel erzählt. Becker selbst hat mit Eifer und Eitelkeit dazu beigetragen, dass man mehr über ihn weiß, als man wissen möchte.

If another life story appears like “Boris Becker. Always get up again” by Daniel Müksch, the reading incentive is therefore rather so-so. All the more so when you have to get through two lengthy forewords to end up with the following opening sentence: “The story of Boris Becker begins in Leimen.” To which one can only exclaim with Loriot: Oh dear!

With the opening, the former “Bunte” author sets the form and direction. Müksch tells Becker’s career quickly and chronologically (albeit always in the present tense, which was occasionally strange given the different time levels) and knows how to make punchlines. One or two chapters close with a short interview with Becker’s companions or the coach Holger Fischer, who can speculate about whether the most successful man in German tennis history is a highly sensitive person.

The author only gives slightly more space to the sporting promotion and relegation than to the trials and tribulations, bankruptcies and embarrassments after Becker’s career ended in 1999. Müksch remains largely objective and stringent. He does not hide his sympathy for Becker, but occasionally fails to recognize that the youngest male Grand Slam tournament winner in history was not only a public victim of his early success, but that people and the media also knew how to use it for their own benefit. Müksch quoted former national coach Richard Schönborn, who innocently called out to Becker a few years ago: “You thought you could live by the motto ‘too big to fail’.”

The Becker biography of all cases offers new things for those born later who want to know which great tennis guys from the past their parents talk about so often. However, the author, who has already dealt with Becker’s life in a six-part podcast, does not bring them up to date. Müksch didn’t mention Becker’s only US Open victory in 1989 at all, and his sixth and final Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 1996 only indirectly.

If the biographer had described some of the rallies or relationships more briefly, there would have been room for more essential things. His tendency towards the tabloid, which he found difficult to contain in his biography of Novak Djokovic, also gives way at the end of his Becker biography. Looking into “a completely subjective crystal ball,” he predicts another marriage, another fatherhood and another court charge for the bald 57-year-old. As Alexander Zverev’s coach, Becker doesn’t look the same as he does in the RTL jungle camp. If he isn’t mistaken.

Does the new biography of Djokovic “In Search of Novak” by Mark Hodgkinson have anything new to offer? First of all, the focus is more original than what can usually be found in sports books. The biographer is only marginally interested in constantly being on top of his game and describing how Djokovic’s 24 Grand Slam titles and 75 ATP tournament victories came about. Rather, he tries to explain what makes the record champion from Serbia tick and why he is so successful.

Hodgkinson has spoken to so many people from Djokovic’s environment that he has as much to say about Novak and Jelena’s marital crises as he does about the tennis professional’s sporting doubts, especially in 2018, when the Serb wanted to give up everything and informed his confidants about it became .

The author describes what drives Djokovic benevolently and affirmatively: his childhood in the hail of bombs in Belgrade. His obsession with wanting to rival Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in terms of triumphs and popularity. His change in diet, which enabled him to go from a young professional who was often weak to a top-fit ​​champion. His unbridled desire to break records.

And last but not least, Djokovic’s belief in the esoteric: He relies on the body’s self-healing powers, does not allow himself to be vaccinated and only undergoes surgery when there is no other option. He believes that polluted water could be turned into holy water through prayer and that a nanochip on the chest converts body heat into microscopic beams of light, stimulating the central nervous system. Wölfe sees the Serb as his “spiritual natural guide”.

Hodgkinson is apparently so deep in Djokovic’s head that there is no escape. The critical distance from him is correspondingly difficult. Djokovic’s mental low after he won the French Open for the first time in 2016 and thus fulfilled a lifelong dream even turned into a culinary psychology digression: “Deep inside, in a dark corner of his soul, he discovered a frightened, crying child who was wailing and demanding attention.” He neglected this “inner child” because of his devotion to the sport. Now that Djokovic is considered one of the greatest athletes in history, the Serb is said to have made peace with many things and is supporting the younger generation of professionals like no other.

The book offers many close-up insights, from the expulsion from Australia due to a lack of vaccination, the hostility to which the Serb is presumably exposed because of his origins, to his few weaknesses in the game (the smash!). It’s aimed at anyone who, according to Hodgkinson, is “a huge Djokovic fan” or finds him irresistible. Those who see esotericism not as a secret doctrine but as nonsense will have a harder time with the book. The treatise of Djokovic’s thoughts, feelings and actions can be found fascinating or disturbing.

Boris Becker. Always get up. Daniel Müksch. Publisher The Workshop, 224 pages, 26.90 euros.

Looking for Novak. Mark Hodgkinson. Verlag Edel Sports, 288 pages, 24.99 euros.