Boris Becker's latest defeat on grass ... at his Spanish villa

Becker's lawyer told the court that his estate agent had agreed to take on the cost of maintaining the 65?acre grounds until he had sold the property.

But the agent, Matthias K�hn, denied this and said he had no responsibility for the German's debts.

Speaking about the case at Wimbledon, where he is commentating for the BBC, Becker said there had been a "first instance decision" but that an appeal was ongoing. "The lack of a decision should be respected by all," he said.

The case is just the latest in a string of financial headaches that the villa, in Arta, has caused Becker since he bought it in 1997. In 2001, he was ordered to tear half of it down after losing a battle with plan?ning officials and two years later was fined for failing to do so.

His extensive renovations had included the creation of servants' quarters, two guest houses, a swimming pool and a tennis court.

Furious residents said he had flouted local laws by building the vast complex on an exclusive stretch of coastline and seeking permission afterwards.

Last October, Becker agreed to pay around �36,000 to an architect in an out?of?court settlement while a building firm employed to carry out repairs to the property is also claiming more than �430,000 in unpaid bills, according to the Mallorca Zeitung, the local German?language newspaper.

Becker's property portfolio took a knock following his infamous liaison with Russian model Angela Ermakova in at the upmarket Japanese restaurant Nobu in London in 1999.

The well publicised encounter resulted in a love?child, Anna, and led to his �10million divorce from Barbara Feltus, who was also awarded their �1.8 million Miami home. The three?time Wimbledon champion's woes almost resulted in a jail term when he was accused of knowingly defrauding German tax authorities.

He claimed he had won the "most important victory" of his life when he was instead handed a hefty fine and a suspended sentence in 2002.

But he was back in court the following year when he was fined over his role in the financial collapse of a sports website.

Becker now lives in Switzerland with his wife Lilly but is currently staying at his home in SW19.

Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568374/s/162accce/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cnews0Ccelebritynews0C8597760A0CBoris0EBeckers0Elatest0Edefeat0Eon0Egrass0E0B0B0B0Eat0Ehis0ESpanish0Evilla0Bhtml/story01.htm

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