Benjamin Becker shares the last time…

I missed a flight?
Well, I’m German so I actually value punctuality, but I missed one flight. I remember, (it) was many, many years ago, coming to Houston (late) because of a traffic jam in Miami. I missed the flight by maybe two minutes, and they wouldn’t let me on but I got lucky because I knew a guy that I met there by accident at the airport who worked for the airline, and he got me on the next plane. So it worked out OK.

I lost something important?
Last time I lost something important was when my wallet got stolen in Germany. For me, traveling all over the world and being in many places where you maybe have to be careful of it, my wallet got stolen at a tennis club in Germany, where I had left for 10 seconds and had my wallet in my bag and somebody stole it out of my bag… I left my bag, I actually just went to the restroom. I heard somebody come in but I didn’t think about it. And really, it was just 15 seconds, 20 seconds. I came out and the bag was gone and I ran outside and I didn’t see anybody, so that was it… They must have searched it real quick and just found the right spot.

I paid money to rent a tennis court or buy tennis balls?
Balls, I just bought a few weeks ago in Dallas, just to get some balls to prepare for [Houston]. And court, I’m lucky that I’m able to play in Dallas at a Lifetime Club. I’m able to practise there, and they help me out nicely. They are very nice people. But I rented some courts in Florida… I went to a public park and everybody had to pay so you pay three bucks an hour. So usually I paid six bucks for two hours and then I practised there… It was when I still lived in Florida and I moved two years ago. I lived there for five years and I usually played at that park because it was five minutes from my house… hard courts… Fort Lauderdale. It was George English Park… Everybody had to pay and I didn’t mind paying… Six bucks, not bad, and if I wanted to play three hours they let me play an hour longer… I could play as long as I wanted, unless somebody else came in. I actually had to wait for the court a few times because the courts were full, so I waited an hour or two and then I got my court.

Being famous helped me?
I don’t know, I’m not that famous. I have to think about that one. I remember after I beat (Andre) Agassi I went to, which also was a long time ago, I went to a New York restaurant, and I had my former college coach, some college friends, my coach at the time, my girlfriend at the time… and obviously I had to pay for dinner. It was after I lost to (Andy) Roddick so we all went out to dinner, and I said “Hey, OK, I cover the dinner, no problem, guys. I invite you, you guys came to New York to support me.” And then when I paid, I gave them my credit card, the guy came back and apologised and said, “I didn’t know it’s you, you beat Agassi a few days before, obviously you don’t have to pay.” So until today those guys still say I owe them a dinner, which I say, “No, I paid, just a different way!”

I strung a tennis racquet?
I’ve only strung a tennis racquet once in my life to test it and that was maybe 10 years ago, and I gave up. So I’ve never actually done it in my life… I mean I did do it once but I didn’t play with the racquet. It was way too loose and it was just to test it.

I cooked for myself and others?
I sometimes cook breakfast. So I cook for my kids sometimes. I do an omelette in the morning, if you consider that cooking. I did some pancakes once. The real cooking, which is also maybe not gourmet cooking, but in college (Baylor University) I always cooked for myself… You didn’t want to go out to eat, you tried to save money, obviously. So we never really did anything outside then, just cooking at home and eating there. We went with the team somewhere we went out to dinner… Usually (at college) I always cooked for myself every day, lunch and dinner. But nothing special, usually pasta, chicken, some vegetables, so nothing fancy, also some pancakes. My grandmother gave me the recipe, and that’s pretty much it… Every now and then I do pancakes or omelettes in the morning for my kids and my wife just to do something extra.

I met a childhood idol?
One of my childhood idols was Boris Becker (no relation), and I met him in 2007, during Davis Cup, my first Davis Cup tie… On Saturday after the doubles he walked into the locker room and it was just like you didn’t breathe for a minute… That was a big moment for me, to actually meet somebody you looked up to most of your life, all of your life… He was the reason why I started to play tennis… Coming to college, I followed (fellow German and Dallas Maverick) Dirk Nowitzki very closely. I went to the games every semester whenever I could. I met him also a few years back, and it was also a good thing for me.

I shared a hotel room with another player?
I hadn’t done it in a long time but in Miami I shared a hotel room with (compatriot Philipp) Petzschner… Before that I don’t think I shared a room with somebody for a long, long time… We went to Dallas together and then he didn’t book a hotel at the time. I said I have a hotel room, and I sai, “Hey, why don’t we share the hotel room. His doubles partner was staying in private housing. We’re good friends… We don’t spend that much time in the hotel but we go practice, we come back, we go to dinner, we come back. We like to watch basketball, and there was a lot of basketball on TV. So we just shared a room. It was good fun, actually.

I asked someone famous for an autograph or selfie?
Selfie? I don’t think I’ve done a selfie. But I just took a picture with Dirk Nowitzki a few weeks back in Memphis. Autograph… the one person that I asked for an autograph and he gave it to me was Wayne Gretzky. I got to stay at his house for four or five days during a college tournament in… 2004. He actually signed a poster… and he gave me a DVD, the heights of his career… It was a great experience… It was a college tournament, and they also offered private housing. Our assistant coach knew his private coach… It was pretty incredible to have five days with him. See him in the morning, him having a coffee, we eating the Wheaties while he’s on the box of the Wheaties! It was kind of surreal but unbelievable guy, so nice. He came to watch us practise, warm up for the matches, everything. Really humble. Very, very nice guy and family, five kids. Very, very fun.

Kei Nishikori came within two points of losing to Nick Kyrgios on Friday but fought his way into the Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals.

Nishikori looked far from happy after losing the first set and recovered from 5-6, 30/30 in the second set to beat Kyrgios 6-7(6), 7-6(1), 6-3 in two hours and 39 minutes.

“I thought it was a great match,” said Nishikori. “I think he served really well. Even though I had many opportunities in the first and second sets – many break points, I couldn’t convert. If I could play better on those important point maybe I could finish [the match in] two sets. It was two tough tie-breaks, but I tried to play maybe a little more aggressive in second set. I thought I returned better in the third set. I was seeing his serve a little better. It was a really tough match, so I am very happy to win today.”

The sixth seed and 2014 runner-up, who is 26-7 on the season, will next meet World No. 1 and 2011 champion Novak Djokovic or No. 11 seed Milos Raonic on Saturday.

ATP Next Generation star Kyrgios saved two break points at 1-2, 30/40 and at 3-4, 30/40 in the first set. Nishikori took a 5/3 lead in the tie-break, but Kyrgios held his nerve to clinch the 54-minute opener.

Nishikori failed to convert two break point opportunities on Kyrgios’ serve at 15/40 in the first game of the second set, which proved to be the only chances prior to another tie-break. Nishikori opened up a 4/0 lead and went on to level the score.

The Japanese warrior grew in confidence in the decider, breaking Kyrgios to 30 in the fourth game and recovered three break points at 15/40 and Advantage at 4-2. He eventually reached his third straight semi-final in Madrid.

Nishikori also beat Kyrgios in last month’s Miami Open presented by Itau semi-finals and now holds a 3-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head record.

Kyrgios had been attempting to earn his 20th match win of the year, which includes his first ATP World Tour title in Marseille (d. Cilic).

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer have combined to win the last 15 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles, with at least one member of the ‘Big Four’ playing in 30 straight finals at this level. Through three rounds at the 2016 Mutua Madrid Open, three players remain capable of extending those streaks on Sunday.

Djokovic and Nadal have not dropped a set as they battle for a record 29th ATP Masters 1000 title. The top-seeded Djokovic is 6-0 in matches and 15-1 in sets against his quarter-final opponent on Friday, World No. 10 Milos Raonic. Djokovic is also on a 12-match unbeaten run versus Top 10 players, winning 27 of 28 sets during that stretch. Nadal, meanwhile, meets unseeded Joao Sousa for a spot in the semi-finals. Sousa is 1-21 with a 19-match losing streak against Top 10 opponents.

Play begins with Murray, the 2008 and 2015 Madrid champion, facing No. 8 seed Tomas Berdych. The Brit is 0-3 against Berdych on clay, but 3-0 overall since Dani Vallverdu left Murray’s camp to coach the Czech last season. Should Murray fail to defend his title this week, he will lose the No. 2 ranking to Federer on Monday. Also on Friday, No. 6 seed Kei Nishikori plays 21-year-old Aussie Nick Kyrgios, the youngest Madrid quarter-finalist since Juan Martin del Potro in 2009.

With Jamie Murray losing in the second round, there will be a new No. 1 in next week’s Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings. Ex-No. 1 Marcelo Melo has the inside track but can be passed by No. 3 Nicolas Mahut and No. 5 Horia Tecau. All three contenders play in the quarter-finals on Friday, with Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert continuing their quest for history against Bob and Mike Bryan. The Frenchmen are bidding to become the first doubles team or singles player to sweep the first four ATP Masters 1000 titles. The Bryans came the closest to doing so in 2014, winning Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo before falling in the Madrid final.

Top seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut defeated Spaniards Pablo Carreno Busta and Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 7-6(4) in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday. The Frenchmen improved to 15-1 in 2016 and have not lost since the quarter-finals of Brisbane in January.

Since then, Herbert/Mahut have swept the first three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events of the year – the BNP Paribas Open (d. Pospisil/Sock), the Miami Open presented by Itau (d. Klaasen/Ram) and the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters (d. Murray/Soares).

No doubles team has won the first four ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in the same year, and standing in the way of the Frenchmen will be Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, who were one match away from accomplishing the feat in 2014 before losing the Madrid final to Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic.

The Americans set up a tantalising quarter-final matchup with Herbert/Mahut by edging in-form Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski 7-5, 2-6, 10-8 in the second round. The Polish duo made the final of Estoril last week (l. to Butorac/Lipsky) and landed 80 per cent of first serves against the Bryans, but succumbed in 81 minutes.

Second seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares fell to Henri Kontinen and John Peers 6-4, 7-6(4). Kontinen/Peers were unbreakable in the second-round match, firing six aces and winning 91 per cent of first serve points.

Murray’s loss ensures that there will be a change at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings on Monday. There are three players in contention to take top spot: Former No. 1 Marcelo Melo, Mahut and Romanian Horia Tecau, who teamed up with Jean-Julien Rojer to beat Thomaz Bellucci and Leonardo Mayer 6-4, 6-4.

Melo is guaranteed to reclaim top spot from Murray, who displaced the Brazilian almost five weeks ago, if he reaches at least the semi-finals and Mahut does not advance one round farther than Melo. Melo will also move to No. 1 if Tecau does not win the title and Mahut loses in the quarter-finals. Mahut will go to No. 1 if he wins one more match than Melo. Tecau can only reach No. 1 if he wins the title and both Melo and Mahut fall in the quarter-finals.

Rafael Nadal drew on his battling qualities on Thursday at the Mutua Madrid Open to keep alive his chances of winning a 29th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title.

The fifth seed and four-time former titlist produced a stunning comeback in the first set against Sam Querrey for a 6-4, 6-2 victory and a place in the quarter-finals, where he will face Joao Sousa.

Nadal came within one point of trailing 1-5, when he served at 30/40 in the sixth game. Querrey later served at 4-3, 40/15, but could not stop Nadal’s resurgence in the 39-minute first set. Nadal grew in confidence and won his seventh game in a row for a 2-0 lead in the second set. Although Querrey recovered to 2-2, Nadal moved up a gear to extinguish any further threats in the 70-minute encounter. It was his 12th straight match win.

“I hadn’t trained during the nighttime, it was a completely different feeling,” Nadal said. “Today it was a little bit slower. At the beginning, when we were warming up, I was feeling a little bit strange, but actually during the week I’ve been training well and playing well.

“After [the slow start] I just had to come back and turn the match around. Luckily once I did that, the match went well. It was on my side most of the time.

“He was going to serve for 5-3 with new balls. You know that you’re at the limit and you can lose the set. Not the match, because you still have another set to go, but it is tough [to be in that position]. In that moment I decided to step back a little bit and change my game. I tried to close the gap so that he couldn’t just go for it. I think it worked out.”

Nadal, who is now 41-9 at the tournament, lifted the trophy in 2005 (d. Ljubicic), 2010 (d. Federer), 2013 (d. Wawrinka) and 2014 (d. Nishikori).

He has recently won back-to-back ATP World Tour titles at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters (d. Monfils) and the Barcelona Open BancSabadell (d. Nishikori) to tie Guillermo Vilas’ record of 49 clay-court titles.

Querrey, 28, captured his first ATP World Tour crown since 2012 at Delray Beach (d. Ram) in February. He dropped to 16-8 overall on the season.

Sousa is through to his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final after beating Querrey’s compatriot, Jack Sock, 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-2 in two hours and 14 minutes.

First Tennis Memory: My father owned a small tennis club in Minnesota. All my early tennis memories are playing at the club, hanging around and causing trouble [smiles].

Tennis Inspirations: Learning from my dad. Learning to fall in love with it. How much passion he had for it. He never pushed me, never said I had to play. But just seeing his love for it and all the smiles he put on people’s faces. That’s what I think made me like [tennis] so much.

Greatest Sports Moment: Finals of Australian Open. Grand Slam finals don’t come around often. When you get to play one of those, it’s pretty special.

Most Painful Moment: Losing in NCAA semi-finals. And I was the last match on the court and I let my team down and we lost 4-3. So that was pretty bad.

Strangest Match: Once in Indian Wells, Rafa hit Feliciano Lopez in the back of the head with a serve, 130 miles an hour, off his head and it went out of the stadium.

Embarrassing Tennis Memory: One was when I was watching at one of my first-ever ATP events. I was looking for a seat. Some people invited me to sit in their luxury box, and I didn’t know who it was. I sat the whole match sitting with Federer’s parents… Basel – his hometown. That was horrible. I didn’t know till the very end [smiles].

Favorite Tournaments: Stockholm and Queens. I like some of the old tennis clubs. You see some of the history, the traditions of the sport. A lot of times we play in real modern venues. It’s nice to see some of the old courts and look up at the posters of Borg and McEnroe and Lendl. Some of these tournaments have been held for 100 years. It’s neat to see.

First Famous Player You Met Or Encountered: No memory from when I was young. Probably first year on the ATP World Tour, Agassi was finishing up his career. So getting to meet him just before he finished his career was really cool… at Indianapolis.

Favorite Sport Outside Tennis: Basketball.

Three Athletes You Like To Watch & Follow: Hockey – Henrik Lundqvist, goalie for the New York Rangers. Growing up I liked Chris Mullin [NBA shooting guard]… I like how he handles himself off the field, leadership-wise. Russell Wilson [NFL].

Best You Ever Felt On Court: Australian Open is one of my best tournaments. Down there I always feel great. The one year we beat the Bryans. Then the following round we beat Nestor/Zimonjic 2 and 4 on Laver Arena. To beat the top two teams in the world back-to-back, pretty handily, was probably the best I ever felt.

Funniest Players Encountered: It’s pretty serious these days. Everybody is pretty focused. Surprisingly, a lot of people never see the side of him but behind closed doors in the locker room Federer is more of a jokester than anyone would imagine.

Fiercest Competitors Encountered: Bryan Brothers. Every time – nice guys off the court – and on the court they want to rip your head off every time [smiles].

Courtesy of Scoop Malinowski, tennis-prose.com. Scoop is the author of “Facing Federer” , “Facing Hewitt” and “Facing Nadal”, all available on Amazon.