Novak Djokovic said he is "heartbroken" after his former coach Boris Becker was handed a two-and-a-half year prison sentence.
Becker was found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act last month, and will serve at least half of his sentence behind bars.
The German was convicted of hiding a number of assets, including nearly £700,000, 75,000 shares in a tech firm and some of his most prized tennis titles - including two Wimbledon trophies. Becker was legally obliged to declare all of his assets after being declared bankrupt five years ago
Following the 2017 bankruptcy the six-time Grand Slam winner handed his wedding ring over, but concealed ownership of a £1.3million home in his native Germany, a £692,000 loan he received from a Liechtenstein bank as well as his shares in an artificial intelligence firm.
Prosecuting, Rebecca Chalkley told jurors that Becker had given bankruptcy officials 'the runaround'. She added: "The obligations and duties were with him."
Djokovic, who was coached by Becker for six of his 20 Grand Slam wins between 2014 and 2016, said: “I am just heartbroken for him. He's a friend, long-time friend, a coach for three, four years, someone I consider close in my life and has contributed a lot to my success in my career.
“I was just heartbroken. I don't know what to say more than that. I'm not going to get into details of the verdict, because I'm not in a position to do that, but as his friend, I'm super sad for him. It's not much that you can say.
“I just hope he will go through this period that he has to be in jail and that when he comes out he's, you know, being able to live his life as, I don't know if we'll use the word 'normal', because the life is definitely changing, I mean, for anybody going to prison, especially for that long of a time.
“So I don't know how things will turn out for him. I just pray for him. I hope things will be well in terms of his health, his mental health, because that's going to be the most challenging part.”
