TWELVE months ago it was the old court number one and this year, if the rumour mill is to be believed, the Wimbledon institution that we are seeing for the last time is Boris Becker, the 29-year-old three-times champion who has become one of the enduring stars of this event since he won it in 1985.

A testimony to his popularity came yesterday on the new number one court where, despite coming up against local boy Mark Petchey, he was loudly encouraged by a large crowd of adoring supporters. The Englishman must have wondered where the fanatical support which Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman had enjoyed over the weekend had disappeared to as he repeatedly tossed up to the cry of "come on Boris".

In addition to his hat-trick of victories here, Becker has also finished as runner-up on four occasions. Last season he looked capable of challenging for the title once again but a wrist injury, sustained in a third-round match with Neville Godwin, ended the German's hopes and started a difficult period which, he is hoping, even now, is finally behind him.

Having more or less recovered from his broken wrist, Becker has had to contend with accusations, strenuously denied, of tax evasion and runs-in with the ultra right in Germany as well as a persistent hamstring problem that decimated his programme for much of this season.

His desire to move his black wife and their young son away from the racism he feels to be prevalent, in his home country means that by this tinge next year he will probably be a resident of the United States.

Before then, however, there is, he says, still "one big Wimbledon left in me". Much of his schedule over the past few months has been aimed at preparing for an assault on this year's title and, so far, the manner in which he has beaten Marcos Gorriz Thomas Johansson and, yesterday, Petchey indicates that his work has provided him with a platform from which his remarkable spirit is capable of launching him towards his goal.

If Becker beats Marcello Rios to reach the quarter-finals, he will almost certainly come up against another three-times champion, Pete Sampras, a player who has twice beaten him in two previous meetings at the All-England Club.

Like Becker, the big American has yet to drop a set at this year's championships and, like his old rival, his performance yesterday brimmed full of the confidence required to add to his glittering Wimbledon record. Sampras dropped just five games against Byron Black on the way to the last 16.