I’m usually awake by 8.30 and the first thing I do is make a double espresso. Without it I can’t function. I don’t tend to eat breakfast but occasionally I’ll have fresh fruit and yoghurt. If it’s a nice morning I’ll sit on the terrace, because it overlooks Lake Zug. I have a penthouse in a three-storey loft conversion and I’ve been living here for five years, so it very much feels like home. I also have places in Miami, where my two sons live with their mother [Barbara Feltus], and a place in London, where my daughter lives with her mother [Angela Ermakova].

I travel a lot, but if I’m at home I head out to my office a short drive away and touch base with the small team of people who look after me. I have several cars, all Mercedes, because I’ve got a sponsorship deal with them, and I’ll often take the C-class coupé. Driving fast in Switzerland is a bit of a problem. There’s a strict 120km speed limit and speed cameras everywhere, so if you’re a bit on the fast side you end up paying a fortune in tickets. Luckily, the German border’s just over an hour away, and once I’m on the autobahn I can put my foot down.

When I retired from tennis in 1999 I was still only 31, and I needed to find a second career. I’m quite driven, easily bored, and I want to be doing things all the time. It’s only during the last five years that I’ve created the right balance and found a way to do the things I enjoy. My main thing now is the licensing of my name to different companies. In that sense, my name’s become a brand. As well as the Mercedes deal, I have a range of rackets and sports clothes, and then there are advertising campaigns with brands like Polo Ralph Lauren.

Lunch is often business and I’ll keep to something light — salade niçoise, a small pasta or a consommé — and maybe a glass of La Scolca Gavi di Gavi or Baron de L Pouilly-Fumé. I also do a fair amount of TV work — I have my own chat show, Boris Becker Meets..., in Germany. And for the past seven years I’ve been covering Wimbledon for the BBC. This year I’ll also be commentating on the US Open.

Tennis is still a passion — it seems like only yesterday that I first won Wimbledon, but it was 22 years ago. Career-wise it’s hard to find an emotion to equal match point on Centre Court. But sure, there are other things that give you that high, whether it’s doing a brilliant business deal or sitting at the final table of the biggest poker tournament in the world with a flush in your hand. I’m a huge poker fan — I’ve played since I was a teenager — and I recently agreed a sponsorship deal with PokerStars.com, which means I take part in their live tournaments. I competed in Monte Carlo in March. And, no, I didn’t win, but I’m eager to improve my game, so I’ll be back for Vegas in June.

Becoming a father brings out a whole new range of emotions too. I try and see the children as often as possible. Sometimes it’s every week, sometimes it’s once or twice a month. They’re all very sporty, but none of them have gone down the tennis route. Noah likes basketball, Elias likes the martial arts, and Anna’s into ballet. I was only three or four when I picked up my first racket — it was so big my father had to chop the handle in half so I could hold it properly. I used to play with my sister, Sabine. She’s four years older than me and she was really my first teacher. She followed in my father’s footsteps, though, and became an architect; she now lives with her family in Geneva. Sadly, my father died in 1999, but my mother still lives in Leimen in Germany — where I was born and grew up. I like to see her on a regular basis.

I have a housekeeper who takes care of the domestic side of things. If I’m in for the evening she’ll rustle something up for me, as I’m a terrible cook. I’d probably die of starvation if left to my own devices. I guess the root of the problem is that I live on my own. If I had a wife or a live-in girlfriend it’d be easier — but I don’t want to ask a girl to live with me just so she can take care of the house or put food on the table. That would definitely be the wrong attitude!

But dinner is a social event, so I prefer to meet up with friends. One of my favourite places is in Zurich, a short drive away. It’s called Kronenhalle and is famous for the paintings on its walls. Artists like Miró, Picasso and Matisse used to eat there and would pay for their meals with their art. I like to treat myself to their version of a classic Swiss dish, Zürcher Geschnetzeltes. It’s sliced veal with onions and mushrooms in a creamy white sauce. With that I might have a Saskia or a Château Margaux. They’re not cheap wines — you could lose a car on a long night of one of these.

If I’ve had a long day travelling, I might sit on the terrace when I get back and have a pilsner. Or maybe I’ll have a cigar with a vodka and tonic. I never mix the beer with the cigars — they don’t go. The lights reflect off the lake at night, so it looks really beautiful.

When I get into bed I leave the window open. I like the fresh air coming in off the water. Security’s not a problem here, so I feel safe. I also feel very content. Life is good and luckily I’m old enough to appreciate everything that’s come my way.

The Pokerstars.com European Poker Tour is on Channel 4, May 28-30

Interview by Ria Higgins. Photograph: Gino Sprio

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