BERLIN, July 5: Germans reacted with shock and regret Friday to the news that national hero Boris Becker had said farewell to Wimbledon but he said he was relieved to have the decision behind him and planned to concentrate on his family, reports AP.

"Now rd like to have a bigger family." Becker told RTL television. "Three, four children — however, it's not all up to me."

Becker. 29. and his wife, Barbara, have a 3-year-old son, Noah.

In another television interview. Becker told SAT1 he'd been preparing his announcement since being defeated in the first round at the Australian Open in January.

"My wife knew 1 waut io quit since the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne." Becker said. "Then I told her. Girl, now we have to show that we can somehow make it over the next six months to Wimbledon, because I can't go on like this."

"Now this pressure has been taken off my shoulders, and that's a very pleasant feeling. I love the sport. I love tennis. Nobody has to force me to do it. That's why 1 would like to stay with it as long as possible and then sometime later quit en-tirely."

Becker's announcement was front page news across Germany. where he is admired even among non-sports fans for his fiery will to win and classy de-

Under the headline We ll all miss Boris." a Berlin tabloid. BZ. said it would take a long time for Germans to grasp that there can even be tennis without him.

"Becker was the heart of our tennis." the newspaper wrote. "Boris was passion, excitement, fascination."