THIRTY years ago, a 17 year-old achieved something so remarkable, it is unlikely ever to be repeated: Boris Becker arrived at the All England Club and became the youngest man ever to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon.

It is hard to overstate quite how extraordinary Becker's 1985 Wimbledon victory was but the fact that no other player has come close to replicating it illustrates just how exceptional the German was. In comparison, at the age of 17, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer all lost in the first round.

In 1984, Becker had won through to the third round of Wimbledon - no mean feat for a 16 year-old but when he returned one year later, he still looked like a boy with his baby face and boyish grin belying quite how mature he was physically. Still a teenager, Becker played tennis like no one else on the tour - he dived, stretched and tumbled in a way that had never been seen before. Mike DePalmer, who coached Becker from 1994 to 1999, called him "German engineering at its finest". Becker's serve and volley game, coupled with a serve that could blow anyone off the court - one British newspaper likened his serve to "the missiles of the Wehrmacht" - was the perfect fit for Wimbledon's hard, patchy grass courts of the 1980s.

Just one week before the start of 1985 Wimbledon, the German had won at Queen's Club but despite this, few observers had high expectations of his run of victories continuing during the Wimbledon fortnight. And the indications in the first few rounds of Wimbledon suggested that Becker would not progress too far. In the third round, Joakim Nystrom twice served for the match, yet Becker won the deciding set 9-7. In the semi-finals, Becker was a set and a break down against Anders Jarryd but came back to win. The teenager then defeated the South African, Kevin Curren, in four sets in the final to become the first German man to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon. He went on to win two more titles at the All England Club yet he remains best remembered for his triumph on centre court 30 years ago.

At first glance, there seems to be few downsides to being such a precocious talent to winning one's first grand slam title at such a young age, yet in reality this is far from the truth. From the day that Becker lifted the champions trophy, he became a German hero, someone who thousands upon thousands of children wanted to emulate and the media wanted to know every detail of his private life. By the early 1990s, Becker had a recognition rating of over 98%, higher even than the German Chancellor. It was a lot to deal with, especially when he was a teenager: "At 17, you're still a boy. You haven't found your personality, your character isn't set yet," he said.

Paradoxically, neither was his maiden grand slam win a good thing for his tennis. "For my education as a tennis player it was probably too early, because every time I went back on a tennis court, everything was compared to Wimbledon '85," he said. "Everybody expected me to win Wimbledon for the next 10 years, which is impossible. I didn't give myself the time to experiment, to improve my backhand, to improve my footwork, because I was part of the circus."

Becker has attributed the fact that he encountered problems later in life to the success he achieved so young. It is not an uncommon occurrence for athletes who reach the big-time at an unthinkably young age to face problems later in life. To have the world at your fingertips, to have everyone around you acceding to your every request, to have more money than you know what to do with - it is almost impossible to remain grounded in those circumstances. The example of Tiger Woods illustrates just how far off the rails someone can go, how skewed their moral compass can become in the wake of huge success at a young age. From the age of 20, if not earlier, Woods has been surrounded by "yes men".

There are, of course, advantages to being young. As a teenager at the top of your sport, there is little pressure, either internal or external, to contend with. There are few expectations, little fear of failure and a teenage athlete has, most likely, not yet accumulated much mental baggage. Youth can be massively advantageous in helping a teenage athlete cope with particular situations yet it can be hugely detrimental in helping that same teenager cope with the aftermath.

Jordan Spieth is, quite rightly, being lauded for winning the first two golf majors of 2015, yet he is four years older than Becker was when he won his first Wimbledon. Four years at such a tender age is a lifetime. It is sometimes forgotten just how young 17 is; for Becker to have been on top of the world at that age is truly remarkable.