Court Drops Case Against Boris Becker

Former German tennis star Boris Becker, also famous for his high-profile tax evasion, alimony and paternity cases, can breath a little easier now that a Munich regional court has thrown out a major suit against him. Executives of Sportgate, a once high-flying Internet sports portal majority owned by the former tennis champ, said Becker had issued a written agreement pledging to invest an additional €1.5 million in the company to help buffer its losses. But on Thursday, the court said the deal would only have been valid if Sportgate had requested the money from Becker before it filed for insolvency in August 2001. The company, which aimed to bring together amateur athletes from the 87,000 sporting groups affiliated with the German Sports Federation (DSB), went bust only a few months after it launched amid a blitz of publicity in summer 2001.