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LONDON — Former German tennis star Boris Becker said he was “surprised and disappointed” after being declared bankrupt by a court in London yesterday for failing to pay a “substantial” long-standing debt.

Lawyers for the three-time former Wimbledon champion pleaded with a Bankruptcy Court registrar to allow Becker a “last chance” to pay off the debt which dates back to 2015.

But Registrar Christine Derrett, who recalled watching Becker play on Centre Court, ruled there was a lack of credible evidence the outstanding payment would be forthcoming and refused to adjourn the case.

“Surprised and disappointed that Arbuthnot Latham chose to bring these proceedings against me,” Becker, 49, wrote on Twitter, referring to the bankruptcy application made by private bankers Arbuthnot Latham & Co. in connection with a judgment debt owed to them by the six-time major winner.

“This order relates to 1 disputed loan which I was due to repay in full in 1 month time! It is disappointing that my request for today’s hearing to be postponed was refused,” said Becker.

“My earnings are well publicised and it was a clear that I have the means to repay this debt.”

The German’s lawyers had argued there was sufficient evidence to show that he would be able to pay the debt soon through a refinancing arrangement, involving remortgaging a property in Mallorca, which was expected to raise 6 million euro (RM28.7 million).

His advocate told the registrar his instructions from Becker were that it was expected the deal would be approved by a Spanish bank in approximately one month.

Becker’s lawyer said his client was not likely to benefit from bankruptcy and it could have an adverse effect on his “image”.

But the judge responded: “He should have thought about that a long time ago.”

She added: “It is not often the case that a professional person has a judgment [debt] outstanding against them since October 2015. This is a historic debt.”

“One has the impression of a man with his head in the sand.”

Becker split with former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic last December following three successful years together, the Serb winning six of his 12 Grand Slam titles with Becker as coach.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga joined the exodus of the seeds at the Aegon Championships after being outplayed by Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller at a boiling hot Queen’s Club on Wednesday.

The Frenchman, seeded five, had no answer to left-hander Muller’s swinging serve as he bowed out 6-4 6-4.

Top seed and five-times champion Andy Murray, French Open runner-up Stan Wawrinka and 2016 Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic all suffered surprise defeats on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old Muller won the grasscourt title in Den Bosch on Sunday and has continued that form on the London lawns.

With on-court temperatures nudging 40oC on Wednesday, Tsonga looked as listless as the sweltering crowd as Muller dominated behind his serve to claim his second title of the year, having never won one before.

He needed one break of serve in each set to subdue former runner-up Tsonga and will move on to face either Murray’s conqueror Jordan Thompson of Australia or American Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals.

American Donald Young also progressed, beating Serbia’s Viktor Troicki in straight sets. 

Murray crashed to one of the worst defeats of his glittering career on Tuesday as Australian World No. 90 Thompson ended his reign as Queen’s champion with an astonishing 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 first round victory.

Making the 30-year-old’s humiliation even worse, Thompson, originally beaten in the qualifying rounds, was only playing as a last minute replacement for the injured Aljaz Bedene.

It was the worst possible preparation for Wimbledon, with the grass-court Grand Slam set to get under way on July 3.

Having reached the French Open semifinals earlier this month, Murray must have hoped he was back on track after his poor run during an injury-plagued first half of the season.

But instead the three-time Grand Slam winner plans to go back to the practice courts with coach Ivan Lendl in a last-ditch bid to find a solution to his struggles.

“I said before the tournament there was still a lot of work to be done, and after the French Open I knew that I was still quite far from where I needed to be,” Murray said.

“One tournament doesn’t change all of what had gone on just beforehand. So that’s why I got back on the practice court quite soon after the French.

“But I was certainly feeling better in the build-up here than I was going into the French. I would have expected to have played and done a bit better.”

Murray has now failed to get past the second round in three of his last four tournaments. and has lost before the quarter-finals six times this year.

It is a remarkable crisis for a player who just eight months ago was sitting on top of the world after a golden year that including titles at Wimbledon, the Olympics and the ATP Tour Finals.

Confidence factor

Murray looks bereft of form and focus at present and he conceded a lack of confidence was a factor.

“I don’t feel like loads of my game has changed, but obviously right now I’m not playing as well as I was 12 months ago,” he said.

“Most of that comes down to confidence in matches. It’s not so much that I have changed my serve or my technique.

“It’s just when you’re playing a lot of matches and winning consistently helps you make better decisions at important moments.

LONDON — Milos Raonic’s Wimbledon preparations suffered a major setback today as the world number six crashed to a shock Queen’s Club first-round defeat against Australian wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Raonic came agonisingly close to a golden summer on grass last year when he reached the Queen’s and Wimbledon finals, only to lose to Andy Murray on both occasions.

But the Canadian’s hopes of warming up for Wimbledon with another strong showing at Queen’s were wrecked by Kokkinakis’s stunning 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (10/8) triumph on a baking hot afternoon in west London.

Kokkinakis needed a wild card from the tournament organisers to make the Queen’s main draw after his ranking plunged to 698 following an abdominal strain that sidelined him for 18 weeks.

Finally fit again, the 21-year-old secured his first Tour level match win for 21 months at s-Hertogenbosch last week, but even so he surely wouldn’t have expected to clinch the best win of his promising career just days later.

“You don’t want to know about the extensive list of injures I’ve had. That was 22 months out of the game,” Kokkinakis said.

“I can’t wait to play in the next round.”

Kokkinakis faces Nicolas Mahut or Daniil Medvedev in the last 16.

Raonic only reached the last 16 at the recent French Open, but clay doesn’t suit his big-serving game as well as the manicured lawns of London.

Having recently hired former Grand Slam doubles champion Mark Knowles as his coach, Raonic was looking to make a statement of intent at Queen’s.

Instead, it was Kokkinakis who announced his own credentials as a future grass-court force in memorable fashion.

“I was just a little too passive. I was letting him dictate too much,” Raonic said.

“Obviously the disappointment is high right now, but whatever the result was this week, I don’t think that’s really going to change my chances at Wimbledon.”

Showing no signs of being intimidated by Raonic’s power game, Kokkinakis matched him blow for blow in the first set and held his nerve to win the tie-break.

Kokkinakis’s close friend Nick Kyrgios was cheering his compatriot on from courtside 24 hours after being forced to withdraw from the tournament due to injury.

Kyrgios said he would spend his time in a local Wimbledon pub while he is out of action and Kokkinakis could be forgiven for joining him for a celebratory drink after this famous victory.

Trailing 6-3 in the second-set tie-break, he saved three set points and, on his third match point, finished off Raonic with a forehand winner.

Pakistan’s Champions Trophy success not only defied the odds, but also suggested the mercurial side have found the nucleus of a squad capable of returning to England in 2019 confident of claiming a second 50-over World Cup title.

The South Asians arrived in Britain for the eight-team, One-Day International  (ODI) tournament as the lowest-ranked side, packed with players still trying to find their feet at the highest level and given little hope of emerging victorious.

Their confidence was dented when they suffered a thumping loss to arch-rivals and neighbours India in their opening match of the campaign and the limp performance put Pakistan’s chances of reaching the semifinals in severe jeopardy.

However, they quickly silenced their critics by defeating top-ranked South Africa and Sri Lanka to reach the last four, where they stunned previously unbeaten hosts England before outclassing defending champions India in Sunday’s final.

“Great team effort! After losing the first game, we were nowhere,” all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez told the official broadcasters after the team’s 180-run win over India.

“We were in the knockout stage but no one gave us a chance. The way we showed character, this is for the nation. They have been waiting for this for a long, long time. This is the least we could do.”

The most recent global success for Pakistan in one-day cricket before Sunday was the 1992 World Cup win in Australia and New Zealand, when another unfancied side, led by talismanic all-rounder Imran Khan, beat England in the final in Melbourne.

Since the departure of captains Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan from the 50-over format in 2015, Pakistan slumped to ninth in ODI rankings and barely managed to qualify for the Champions Trophy, contested by the top eight sides in the rankings.

The decline cost Azhar Ali the captaincy and Sarfraz Ahmed, the Twenty20 skipper, was elevated to the role in February.

With their inability to host top international sides on home soil due to security concerns and a spot-fixing controversy blighting their domestic T20 league, Sunday’s win provided the country’s cricket fans with some much-needed cheer.

The victory was made even more remarkable when recent form is taken into consideration as Pakistan had also lost their last seven matches against India in ICC events before the final.

Dangerous attack

“After the [first] India match, one thing I said to my boys was ‘the tournament hasn’t finished yet’,” Sarfraz told reporters. “It’s a very young team and credit goes to them and the management. 

“It’s a very important boost for us to win this. When we arrived here, we just played like we have nothing to lose. Credit goes to my batsmen, my bowlers and the team management. 

“I think it’s a very proud moment for me, my team and my country.”

The Champions Trophy success will also boost Pakistan’s hopes for a second World Cup title when they return to England and Wales in 2019.

The country has a tradition of producing exciting fast bowling talent and 25-year-old Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan, 27, can be expected to spearhead the pace attack at the next World Cup.

Add deadly accurate medium paceman Hasan Ali, the player of the Champions Trophy, and 18-year-old leg-spinner Shadab Ali to the mix, and Pakistan have a bowling unit with enough menace to trouble any side in the world.

With Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman also coming of age, Pakistan’s batting lineup appears to have the right blend of youth and experience, boosted by the solidity of former captains Azhar, Hafeez and Shoaib Malik.

“We want to be a little more consistent as a team,” coach Mickey Arthur said. 

“We’ve got a group of young players who are fantastic. We have to keep this momentum going. We’re happy with the brand of cricket we’re playing. 

“We’ve got two years until the 2019 World Cup. We’ve got the monkey off our back in terms of qualifying. We now have two years to identify a squad we want to take forward and give them enough game time. That’s the aim at the moment.”

LONDON — Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Amir shone as Pakistan defied the odds to overwhelm arch-rivals India by 180 runs and pull off a major upset in the Champions Trophy final at The Oval on Sunday.

Fakhar capitalised on a lucky escape to strike a superb 114 and lift Pakistan to a commanding total of 338 for four and fast bowler Amir ripped out India’s top three batsmen before the defending champions subsided to 158 all out.

Pakistan had come into the tournament as the lowest-ranked team and lost heavily to India in its opening group match but they beat South Africa and Sri Lanka to make the semifinals where they knocked out hosts England

“Fakhar is a great impact player, he played like a champion batsman today,” Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed said at the presentation ceremony.

“Amir bowled brilliantly today but all my bowlers bowled really well. We have a young team and credit to my boys.

After India had won the toss, Fakhar, on three, was caught by wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni off a Jasprit Bumrah no-ball and the 27-year-old left-hander took full advantage to make his first international century.

He shared a fluent century opening partnership with Azhar Ali (59), the pair unleashing a barrage of crisp attacking strokes all around a sun-kissed ground

Azhar also continued his fine form, reaching fifty off 61 balls before he was run out following a mix-up with his partner

Fakhar lofted Ravindra Jadeja over long-on for six and got to three figures by sweeping Ravichandran Ashwin to the boundary.

He celebrated with an extravagant twirl of his bat and kissed the turf as the Pakistan supporters sensed an unlikely win.

Fakhar hit 12 fours and three sixes before skying a catch off Hardik Pandya, but Pakistan had the perfect platform to make the highest total in a Champions Trophy final.

Three sixes

Babar Azam chipped in with a solid 46 and Mohammad Hafeez struck three sixes in a punchy unbeaten 57 that left India needing to produce the highest successful run chase in the tournament’s history to lift the trophy for the third time

Within three overs, however, their reply was in tatters as Amir produced a devastating spell of bowling

He trapped Rohit Sharma lbw for nought with a swinging delivery and removed India talisman Virat Kohli with another fine ball which the captain could only edge to point for five

Kohli, the world’s top-ranked one-day batsman, had been dropped off the previous delivery in the slips and the India fans looked shell-shocked as he trudged off

Their hopes now rested largely on the shoulders of Shikhar Dhawan who had been in fine form in the tournament but he made only 21 before nicking the inspired Amir to wicketkeeper Sarfraz.

Spinner Shadab Khan snared Yuvraj Singh lbw for 22 and Dhoni, India’s former captain who has saved the team on many occasions, pulled Hasan Ali to Imad Wasim at deep square leg to depart for four.

Shadab picked up his second wicket when Kedar Jadhav, on nine, gave Sarfraz a simple catch and India appeared to be crumbling meekly at 72 for six

Pandya, however, briefly raised their spirits with a quickfire 76, reaching his fifty with three successive sixes off Shadab and hitting six maximums in all before he was run out.

Jadeja nicked Junaid Khan to slip for 15, Hasan had Ashwin caught by Sarfraz and Hasan forced Bumrah to lob another catch to the wicketkeeper, who pouched it gleefully to complete Pakistan’s first Champions Trophy win with 19.3 overs to spare. 

“Early wickets are never good, especially in a chase. We thought one big partnership would have set it up nicely,” Kohli said

“Pakistan had to earn their win and they made us make mistakes. We have no hesitation or shame to admit we didn’t play our best game today.”

NOTTINGHAM — These days Donna Vekic is best known as the girlfriend of three-times Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka but it is easy to forget that five years ago she was tipped as the next big thing.

Croatian Vekic, who turns 21 later this month, reached the final of her first WTA Tour event in Tashkent in 2012 — the youngest player to do so for six years.

The following year, still aged 16, she was runner-up at the Wimbledon warm-up event in Birmingham, prompting former American great Chris Evert to predict a top-10 career.

She has never got close.

There was one title in Kuala Lumpur in 2014 when she reached a career high 63 but she finished outside the top 100 for the past two years. Last year she fell in the first round of the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon and failed to qualify for the US Open.

Google her name and the results throw up endless stories about an unsavoury incident in 2015 when Australian Nick Kyrgios made derogatory sexual remarks about her during a match against Swiss Wawrinka in Montreal, for which he was subsequently fined.

There are signs, however, that Monte Carlo-based Vekic, now “older and wiser”, might start making headlines again for the tennis ability that has been hibernating for a while.

On Friday at the Nottingham Open she completed a third consecutive straight sets win, this time against Greek Maria Sakkari to move to within a victory of her fifth career final.

Not quite in the same league as 32-year-old Wawrinka who has won two of his three Grand Slams since being romantically involved with Vekic, but she is still aiming high.

“I hope I won’t be as old as he was when I win my first Grand Slam!” she told Reuters at the Nottingham tennis centre.

“It’s been difficult. I’ve had some ups and downs in my career but I’m still only 20.

“You know I can’t say it’s been easy but I feel like I’ve been through everything, but now I’m stronger mentally and have improved a lot of things in my game.

“There are still things to work on but I know what it takes to be there and hopefully I can achieve that and keep this momentum going.”

Vekic, coached by Nick Horvat and whose agent Lawrence Frankopan also looks after Wawrinka, said the hardest thing was watching other young players zoom past her.

“I was playing those finals when I was 16 and 17 and it was more me who was putting pressure on myself, thinking OK I have to win every tournament now,” she said.

“Then all the other young girls came up and like Belinda [Bencic] she was in the top 10 and I was thinking what am I doing wrong? But I wasn’t really doing anything wrong.

“It just takes time and I had fall to get back up. This will make me stronger. I went high then low. It was difficult for me because I was expecting the opposite.

“But I’m happy that I am coming back.”

Vekic said she takes heart from the likes of Jelena Ostapenko who won the French Open last week, aged 20.

That was incredible and it showed everyone can do it and that women’s tennis is so open,” she said.

“To win a slam at any age is amazing, 20 or 30. I’ll take either.”

BIRMINGHAM, England — India put on a display of composed and confident batting as it cruised into the final of the Champions Trophy with a nine-wicket victory over Bangladesh on Thursday, setting up a clash with old rivals Pakistan on Sunday.

A masterful unbeaten 123 from Rohit Sharma at Edgbaston steered the defending champions to victory with nearly 10 overs to spare after they were set a target of 265 by Bangladesh, playing in their first semifinal of a major tournament.

Sharma shared a 178 run partnership with Virat Kohli, who ended unbeaten on 96 as India dominated against a modest Bangladeshi bowling attack, which never managed to create any real pressure.

The Tigers will feel they failed to put up a big enough target but with their opponents completing the task with 589 balls remaining, it was hard to imagine a scenario where India would have lost this game.

"It was another complete game. We needed to have a clean, collective game. We didn't expect to win by nine wickets, but that's the quality of our top order," said skipper Kohli.

An entertaining 123 run third wicket partnership between Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim put Bangladesh in a strong position but their middle order failed to fully capitalise on that foundation.

Bangladesh ended its 50 overs on 264 for seven after Tamim top scored with 70 and Mushfaqir made 61, but with a stronger middle and lower order contribution they would have expected to reach around 300.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar claimed two early wickets for India — Soumya Sarkar dragging on in the first over and then Sabbir Rahman slashing a short ball to Ravindra Jadeja at backward point to leave Bangladesh at 36 for two.

Tamim was fortunate when he was bowled by Hardik Panya off a no-ball when he was on 17, but he took good advantage of the reprieve.

Together with Mushfiqur, Tamim took the game to India with some aggressive batting, taking calculated risks and scoring at a brisk pace as they brought up the century partnership off 104 balls with 10 fours and one six.

The breakthrough came after India had managed to slow down the run-rate and with the pressure on, Tamim lost his composure, bowling the part-time off-spin of Kedar Jadhav as he attempted a wild slog.

Shakib Al Hasan was superbly caught, off a bottom edge by MS Dhoni, stood up to spinner Ravindra Jadeja and then Jadhav, an unlikely source of trouble with his tame spin, struck again with the crucial wicket of Mushfiqur, whose mistimed shot was snaffled up by Virat Kohli at mid-wicket.

Bangladesh badly needed Mahmudullah, a century maker in the win over New Zealand last week, to regain the momentum but he was only able to make 21 off 25 balls before being bowled by a fine Jasprit Bumrah yorker.

India were positive from the outset of their response, reaching 63 without loss in the first 10 overs, and the departure of Shikhar Dhawan (46) with the score at 87 merely allowed Kohli to join in the fun with Sharma.

When Bangladesh battle India in the Champions Trophy semifinal on Thursday and it will be the consecration of a new Asian cricket rivalry.

Few of the millions of Bangladeshis following at home expected Mashrafe Mortaza’s side to reach the last four — that they are playing India has made the achievement even more special and surprising to the players.

Mortaza sent his family home last week and other Bangladesh players were doing their shopping in expectation of flying back, according to Bangladesh media.

But sparkling batting by Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah helped Bangladesh to an epic win over New Zealand that saw them reach a first ICC tournament semifinal.

Now Mortaza says the team have to brush aside pressure so they can play with a “free mind” against India to prove their worth.

While India-Pakistan is one of the world’s biggest sporting rivalries, Bangladesh are fast emerging as a worthy competitor.

Bangladesh raged over umpire decisions when they lost to India in the 2015 World Cup quarter-final. They lost their World Twenty20 group match to India last year by just one run.

In between, the Bangladesh ‘Tigers’ beat India at home in a three-match one-day series. They have also beaten Pakistan and South Africa in one-day series to send them up the world rankings and earn them a place in the Champions Trophy for the world’s top eight teams for the first time in 11 years.

‘Hungry and talented’

Former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said ahead of the tournament that Bangladesh are “a very hungry and talented bunch of players”.

“What you see in Bangladesh right now is a growing confidence and enhanced game-awareness. It is learning how to win matches and that makes it very dangerous opponents.”

Mortaza’s side only started believing in their chances after impressive displays in New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka and Ireland in the past few months.

“We did not win a match in New Zealand but we played well there. We created chances in all our matches,” said chief selector Minhajul Abedin.

Bangladesh defeated New Zealand during a three-nation tournament in Ireland before the trophy campaign. It was their first away victory against the Kiwis in 17 attempts.

Against the Kiwis in Cardiff last week, Bangladesh raced to 268-5 from a tottering 33-4 to eliminate Kane Williamson’s team.

Luck also played a role with Bangladesh heading to almost certain defeat against Australia until rain washed out the match.

England then beat Australia and let Bangladesh into the semifinal with the host.

“You could argue about the luck if we would have played badly. But we won a match while Australia and New Zealand failed to do so. Even to utilise the luck you need some base,” said Minhajul.

“The cricket we are playing, we deserve to be in the semis. We played well against New Zealand, we made 300-plus against England but Australia failed to do so in the same ground against the same opponents,” he said.

Minhajul said Bangladesh would need everyone to be on top form against India to have a chance of making the final.

Pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman, one of their most exciting talents, has failed to live up to expectations while youngsters Sabbir Rahman and Soumya Sarkar have struggled with the bat.

Mustafizur, nicknamed ‘‘Fizz’’, vowed to do justice to his reputation in the semifinal.

“My cutters were not as effective here as in our home soil. There is no end of learning. And I’m still trying to bowl well in these conditions,” Mustafizur told reporters.

“We always believe that our pacers can do well against India. If everything goes right, it will surely happen.”

MADRID — Football star Cristiano Ronaldo faces a lawsuit filed on Tuesday by Spain’s prosecutor’s office in Madrid for allegedly defrauding Spanish tax authorities of 14.7 million euros ($16.48 million) between 2011 and 2014.

The prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the Real Madrid forward had knowingly used a business structure created in 2010 to allegedly hide his image rights income in Spain.

This involved a “voluntary” failure to comply with his tax obligations in Spain, the statement from the office’s economic crimes section said. The four counts of tax fraud were based on a report from Spain’s tax agency, it said.

Real Madrid declined to comment and calls to the agency representing Ronaldo, Gestifute, went unanswered.

Ronaldo, who led Real Madrid to their 12th European Cup earlier this month, is the latest in a long line of football players in Spain — among them Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Neymar — who have been caught up in cases over tax or transfers.

Between 2005 and 2010, foreign players in Spain were protected under the so-called “Beckham law” allowing them to curb their taxes. But as the financial crisis bit deeper, that exemption was lifted, paving the way for the cases. 

The prosecutor’s office alleges that Ronaldo had defrauded the tax authorities of 1.4 million euros in 2011, 1.7 million euros in 2012, 3.2 million euros in 2013 and 8.5 million euros in 2014.

Ronaldo, who is from Portugal, became a Spanish tax resident in January 2010 and in November 2011 opted to follow the Spanish tax regime that applies to foreigners working in Spain, the statement said.

He should have paid a tax rate of 24 per cent in 2011, and 24.75 per cent in the three following years, it said.

Image rights

The prosecutor said that after Ronaldo signed a contract to join Real Madrid in December 2008 he ceded his image rights to a company called Tollin Associates Ltd., domiciled in the British Virgin Islands and in which he was the only stakeholder.

Tollin Associates then ceded his image rights to a company in Ireland called Multisports&Image Management Ltd. which was responsible for managing them. Tollin Associates itself had no business activity, the statement said.

“Ceding image rights to [Tollin Associates] was completely unnecessary and it’s only purpose was to create a screen to conceal the totality of his image rights income from the Spanish tax authorities,” the statement said.

The prosecutor’s office filed the lawsuit against Ronaldo on Tuesday to a court in the Madrid district of Pozuelo de Alarcon.

Ronaldo finished the football season scoring two goals in a 4-1 victory over Juventus in the Champions League final to become the tournament’s top scorer with a total of 12 goals. 

Afterwards, Spanish sports newspaper Marca called Real Madrid, who also won La Liga this year, “masters of the universe”.

In May, Spain’s supreme court rejected an appeal by Messi and stood by a Catalan regional court’s 21-month prison sentence for defrauding authorities of 4.1 million euros on image rights. He is unlikely to go to prison as under Spanish law sentences under two years can be served under probation.

Spain’s high court in May cleared Neymar of fraud but he still faces a corruption trial in Spain in connection with the value of his 2013 transfer from Santos to Barcelona. He has denied wrongdoing.