Becker, I wish we'd never divorced

Boris Becker today said he still loved his ex-wife and wished they had never divorced.

The three-times Wimbledon champion, 34 tomorrow, tells Germany's Stern magazine: "I never wanted a divorce. If it had been up to me we wouldn't have had one."

Becker's seven-year marriage ended after he fathered a baby girl by Russian model Angela Ermakova in a 1999 cupboard clinch at London restaurant Nobu. He said of ex-wife Barbara: "I have never changed my mind about her. I loved this woman before and I love her now. The greatest birthday surprise of all would be if she stood before my door with the children."

Becker is being pursued by the German inland revenue, seeking £10.3 million in back taxes, fines and interest on earnings. It claims he falsely put Monaco as his official place of residence during the 1980s and early 1990s but spent most of the time in his homeland.

Becker has eight days left to respond with a settlement offer or counter-claim, or face criminal charges which, if proved, could mean a four-year jail term.