Becker's estate seized after rift with gardener

Tennis great Boris Becker's sprawling estate in Majorca was impounded by the Spanish authorities because he refuses to pay a €300,000 ($425,378) gardening bill. The German, 43, booked a company to tend his orange trees, 15-meter pool and tennis and basketball courts at the 265,000 square-meter (290 square-yard) property in the northeastern region of the island. But after putting the estate, which also includes an amphitheater, wine cellar and guest house, on the market in 2007 for €15 million, Becker argued that the outstanding maintenance bills will be settled after the sale is completed. The gardening company, Jardines Alfabia, disputed that and won the first round of the court action. Becker appealed and the court, at the gardeners' request, impounded the estate near the small town of Arta until judgment has been passed. "This is not really that dramatic," said three-time Wimbledon winner Becker, who is currently commentating on the 2011 Championships. "If somebody feels wrongly done by, it is his right to go to court. I'm still planning to take my family to [the estate] in mid-July for our summer camp." Despite his calm, the case came at an embarrassing time for Becker, who can currently be seen on a television campaign promoting himself as a green-fingered, passionate gardener. In the advertisements, Becker is seen with his new wife, Lilly, pushing wheelbarrows, planting flowers and dragging compost bags. All the while wearing galoshes rather than his customary tennis sneakers.