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 Last appearance Becker not expecting to be seeded at Wimbledon
Posted: Sunday May 16, 1999 03:27 PM
DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) -- Boris Becker, who will play one more Wimbledon before retiring this summer, said on Sunday he did not expect to be seeded in a tournament he has won three times. "Unfortunately there is a thing called the world rankings and I'm nowhere near the top 20," Becker said on Sunday at the World Team Cup, where he is playing for Germany for the last time. "I know Wimbledon is the only tournament where the seeding does not exactly follow the rankings but I'm too far behind," said the former world number one, who has dropped to 69th in the ATP Tour rankings. Becker, now 31, bid an emotional farewell to Wimbledon two years ago but has now decided to give it one more try. "I have such fond memories of that tournament," he said. "I want to go there one more time before I quit." Pete Sampras, who beat Becker in the quarter-finals at the All England club in 1997, said he was a bit disappointed that the German had changed his mind. "It was a moment I would never had forgotten, the last match he played on that centre court," said Sampras, also at the World Team Cup. "It was something I would have told my grandchildren. Never mind." Sampras said he thought there was a possibility Becker might be seeded. "They could seed him," he said. "The man has done pretty well there and I'm sure he can still bring a lot of excitement." Becker said he would play at Queens two weeks earlier to warm up for Wimbledon. He plans to retire completely by the end of July.
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