Becker back in court

Former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker returns to the law courts in London on Tuesday in a bid to settle a dispute over money with the Russian model who bore his child after a five-second encounter in a cupboard.

Becker admitted earlier this year that he is the father of 34-year-old Angela Ermakova's one-year-old daughter Anna after initially denying paternity.

The former world number one has described his brief encounter in a laundry cupboard at fashionable London restaurant Nobu as five seconds that will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Becker, 33, had been drinking heavily after his defeat at Wimbledon two years ago by Australian Pat Rafter.

"It wasn't even an affair," Becker told ARD German television last April. "It was an act that lasted five seconds.

"I never saw her before and never saw her again afterwards. It's a mistake that will haunt me for the rest of my life."

Becker, who also faces a tax investigation by German authorities, was reported by British media to have initially agreed a two million pounds ($2.8 million) deal with Ermakova.

The hearing for the latest round of the battle between the two is scheduled to come before a High Court Family Division judge in London and is estimated to last two days.

Becker, who has two other children, is expected to attend court, as is Ermakova, who lives in London.

The hearing involves a dispute over the amount of money Becker should pay to Ermakova for maintenance of their daughter, legal sources said.

A high court official said the case is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday but it may at the last minute be put back to later in the week.