Stefan Edberg
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| Country | Sweden |
|---|---|
| Residence | Växjö, Sweden |
| Date of birth | 19 January 1966 |
| Place of birth | Västervik, Sweden |
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Weight | 77 kg (170 lb; 12.1 st) |
| Turned pro | 1983 |
| Retired | 1996 |
| Plays | Right-handed; one-handed backhand |
| Career prize money |
$20,630,941 * 8th All-time leader in earnings |
| Int. Tennis HOF | 2004 (member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 806–270 (74.9%) |
| Career titles | 42 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (13 August 1990) |
| Grand Slam results | |
| Australian Open | W (1985, 1987) |
| French Open | F (1989) |
| Wimbledon | W (1988, 1990) |
| US Open | W (1991, 1992) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Tour Finals | W (1989) |
| Olympic Games | W (1984, demonstration event) Bronze medal (1988) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 283–153 |
| Career titles | 18 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (9 June 1986) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1987, 1996) |
| French Open | F (1986) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1987) |
| US Open | W (1987) |
| Olympic Games | Bronze Medal (1988) |
| Last updated on: 19 August 2006. | |
| Olympic medal record | ||
| Men's Tennis | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 1988 Seoul | Singles |
| Bronze | 1988 Seoul | Doubles |
Stefan Bengt Edberg (born 19 January 1966) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player (in both singles and doubles) from Sweden. A major proponent of the serve-and-volley style of tennis, he won six Grand Slam singles titles and three Grand Slam men's doubles titles.
Contents |
Career
Edberg first came to the tennis world's attention as a junior player. He won all four Grand Slam junior titles in 1983 to become the first-ever player to achieve the "Junior Grand Slam". Later that year as a professional, Edberg won his first career doubles title in Basel.
In 1984, Edberg won his first top-level singles title in Milan. Edberg also won the tennis tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics when the sport was an exhibition event and partnered with fellow Swede Anders Järryd to reach the final of the US Open. Edberg also reached the French Open doubles final with Järryd in 1986 and consequently was World No. 1 in doubles in that year.
U.S. fans first took notice of Edberg's professional career when he won the U.S. Indoor in Memphis in February 1985. Edberg's first two Grand Slam singles titles came at the Australian Open. In December 1985, he defeated Mats Wilander in straight sets to claim his first major title. In January 1987, he defended his title by defeating Pat Cash in five sets to win the last Australian Open held on grass courts. Edberg also won the Australian Open and US Open men's doubles titles in 1987 (partnering fellow Swede Anders Järryd).
In 1988, Edberg reached the first of three consecutive finals at Wimbledon. In all three finals, he played Boris Becker in what became one of Wimbledon's greatest rivalries. Edberg won their first encounter in a four-set match spread over two days because of rain delays. A year later, Becker won in straight sets. The closest of their matches came in the 1990 final, when Edberg won in five sets after being down a break in the fifth set.
In 1990, an abdominal muscle injury forced Edberg to retire from the Australian Open final while trailing Ivan Lendl 5–2 (including two breaks of serve) in the third set. Edberg nevertheless took the World No. 1 ranking from Lendl on 13 August 1990 by winning the Super 9 tournament in Cincinnati. He held it for the rest of that year and for much of 1991 and 1992. Edberg spent a total of 72 weeks as World No. 1.[1]
Edberg's final two Grand Slam singles triumphs came at the US Open, with wins over Jim Courier in the 1991 final and Pete Sampras in the 1992 final, who was just months away from being ranked No. 1 in the world.
Edberg's last Grand Slam singles final appearances were at the Australian Open, where he lost in four sets to Jim Courier in both 1992 and 1993.
In 1996, Edberg won his third and final Grand Slam doubles title at Australian Open with Petr Korda.
The only Grand Slam singles title Edberg never won was the French Open. He reached the French Open final in 1989 but lost in five sets to 17-year old Michael Chang, who became the youngest ever male winner of a Grand Slam singles title.
Edberg was most comfortable playing tennis on fast-playing surfaces. Of his six Grand Slam singles titles, four were won on grass courts at the Australian Open (1985 and 1987) and Wimbledon (1988 and 1990) and two were won on hardcourts at the US Open (1991 and 1992).
Post-career competitive tennis
In September 2008, Stefan Edberg officially joined the Black Rock Tour of Champions, a tour for professional tennis players who have since retired from the ATP Tour. Edberg won his first tournament in Paris held on clay, winning matches against clay court specialists Thomas Muster in the opening round and Sergi Bruguera in the finals on Sunday, 21 September, 2008.[2]
Distinctions and honors
- Edberg also played on four Swedish Davis Cup winning teams in 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1994. He appeared in seven Davis Cup finals—a record for a Swedish player.
- Since the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) computer rankings began, Edberg and John McEnroe are the only men to be ranked World No. 1 in both singles and doubles.
- Edberg is the only player ever to earn both Player of the Year and Doubles Team of the Year. Edberg won Player of the Year in 1990 and 1991 and Doubles Team of the Year (with fellow Swede Anders Järryd) in 1986.
- Edberg and Boris Becker are the only male tennis players ever to receive the United Press International Athlete of the Year Award (with Edberg having received the award in 1990).
- Edberg was also a member of the Swedish teams that won the World Team Cup in 1988, 1991, and 1995.
- At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where tennis was a demonstration sport, Edberg won the men's singles gold medal. Four years later, at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, tennis became a full medal sport and Edberg won bronze medals in both the men's singles and the men's doubles.
- During his career, Edberg won a total of 42 top-level singles titles and 18 doubles titles and appeared in a then record 54 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments (since then broken by Wayne Ferreira) [3].
- He was ranked the World No. 1 for a total of 72 weeks.
- Edberg was also a five-time recipient of the ATP Sportsmanship Award (1988-90, 1992, and 1995). In recognition of this achievement, the ATP renamed the award the "Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award" in 1996.
- In 2004, Edberg was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, United States.
- Edberg won singles titles in 12 different countries: Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
- Edberg is considered by Tennis Magazine as the 14th greatest player, counting both male and female tennis players, of the Tennis Era. Counting men only, Edberg ranks 8th.[4]
- Edberg was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1990.
- Edberg was a childhood hero of current World No. 1 Roger Federer.
- Edberg is one of the few players who reached the final of all four Grand Slam tournaments, winning three of them. In the 1989 French Open final, Edberg lead the match by two sets to one over Michael Chang and had numerous break points during the fourth and fifth sets. He eventually led the match by a break in the fifth set but could not win it.
- Edberg won several Grand Slam matches after being down a break of service in the fifth and deciding set. Notable examples include the 1988 Wimbledon semifinal against Miloslav Mečíř, the 1989 French Open semifinal against Boris Becker, and the 1990 Wimbledon final against Becker. In the 1992 US Open, Edberg did it in three consecutive matches, against Richard Krajicek in the fourth round, Ivan Lendl in the quarterfinals, and Chang in the semifinals. In all these examples except the 1989 French Open final, Edberg went on to win the title.
- Edberg's distinctive serve is used as the logo for the Australian Open.
Personal life
Edberg was born in Västervik, Sweden.
He is married to Annette Hjort Olsen. They have two children, Emilie and Christopher.[5] (Olsen was at one time romantically connected to Edberg's tennis rival Mats Wilander.[6])
Edberg is a supporter of English football team Leeds United.[7]
Trivia
- Edberg was involved in a freak accident during the boys' singles final at the 1983 US Open, when Dick Wertheim, a linesman, was struck by a ball hit by Edberg. Wertheim toppled backwards off his chair, fracturing his skull as he hit the ground. The injury proved fatal.[8]
- Edberg is a part-owner and board member of the Swedish investment company Case Assets Management.[5]
Records
- These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.
| Grand Slam | Years | Record accomplished | Player tied |
| Australian Open | 1985–93 | 5 finals overall | Roger Federer |
| Australian Open | 1985–87[Rec 1] | 2 consecutive wins | Ken Rosewall Guillermo Vilas Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Andre Agassi Roger Federer |
- ↑ No Championship in 1986
Career statistics
- Stefan Edberg career statistics
Quote
- "If he hadn't lived," Edberg later said of Van Allen, "Michael and I might still be out there playing!"
- Background : Jimmy Van Allen (famed for his invention of the tennis tiebreak) died on the same day in 1991 that Michael Stich narrowly defeated Edberg in a Wimbledon semifinal 4–6, 7–6(5), 7–6(5), 7–6(2) where Edberg did not lose his serve.
See also
- Tennis male players statistics
- World number one male tennis player rankings
- List of Swedes in sports
- Dick Wertheim
References
- ↑ Weeks at Number One
- ↑ Edberg Hits Back For First BlackRock Title BlackRock Tour Of Champions, 21 September 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2008.
- ↑ Champions Series Tennis - Player Profile
- ↑ Tennis.com - 40 Greatest Players of the Tennis Era, Retrieved 23 October 2008.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Stefan Edberg: A Champion reflects", Rediff India Abroad. Retrieved 22 October 2008.
- ↑ Kirkpatrick, Curry. "An Astonishing Net Result", Sports Illustrated. 14 June 1982. Retrieved 22 October 2008.
- ↑ Baker, Andrew. Stefan Edberg returns to play Tim Henman, Telegraph, 28 November 2007.
- ↑ "Tennis Legends Revealed"
External links
- Stefan Edberg at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- ATP Legends Profile Stefan Edberg
- Stefan Edberg at the International Tennis Federation
- Stefan Edberg at Davis Cup
- International Tennis Hall of Fame profile
- Sunday Times article 29 November, 2009
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