Stefan Edberg
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| Country: | Sweden | |
| Residence: | London, ENG | |
| Height: | 6'2" (187 cm) | |
| Weight: | 170 lbs. (77 kg) | |
| Plays: | Right | |
| Turned pro: | 1983 | |
| Retired: | 1996 | |
| Highest singles ranking: | 1 (8/13/1990) | |
| Singles titles: | 42 | |
| Career Prize Money: | $20,630,941 | |
| Grand Slam Record Titles: 6 | ||
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| Australian Open | W (1985, '87) | |
| French Open | F (1989) | |
| Wimbledon | W (1988, '90) | |
| U.S. Open | W (1991, '92) | |
Stefan Edberg (b. January 19 1966, in Västervik, Sweden) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Sweden. During his career, he won six Grand Slam singles titles and three Grand Slam doubles titles. Edberg is well known as one of the best serve and volley player of all time, for his superb volleying skills and as a gentleman and ambassador for the sport.
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Career
Edberg first came to the tennis world's attention as a brilliant junior player. He won all four of the Grand Slam junior titles in 1983.
As a professional, Edberg won his first career doubles title in Basel in 1983, and his first top-level singles title at Milan in 1984.
Edberg's first two Grand Slam titles came at the Australian Open. In 1985, he defeated Mats Wilander in straight sets to claim his first major title. Two years later, in 1987 he beat Pat Cash in a memorable five-set final to win the last Australian Open to be 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 against Boris Becker in what is remembered as one of Wimbledon's great rivalries. Edberg won their first encounter in a four-set match spread over three days because of rain delays. A year later, in 1989, Becker won in straight sets. The best of their matches came in the 1990 final, when Edberg won an epic five-set encounter.
Edberg claimed the World No. 1 ranking in August 1990. He held it for the rest of of that year, and for much of 1991 and 1992.
Edberg's final two Grand Slam singles triumphs came at the US Open, with wins over Jim Courier in 1991 final, and Pete Sampras in the 1992 final.
In 1996, Edberg won his third 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 Michael Chang in a match best remembered for making the 17-year old Chang the youngest ever male winner of a Grand Slam singles title. Generally 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 and Wimbledon, and two were won on hardcourts at the US Open.
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.
Edberg was also a member of the Swedish teams which won the World Team Cup in 1988, 1991 and 1995.
At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where tennis was a demonstration sport, and 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 for Sweden.
During his cereer, Edberg won a total 41 top-level singles titles and 18 doubles titles, and appeared in a record 54 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments. He was ranked the World No. 1 for a total of 72 weeks. Edberg was also a five-time recipient of the ATP's Sportsmanship Award (1988-90, 92 and 95). In recognition of this achievement, the ATP renamed the award the "Edberg Sportsmanship Award" in 1996. In 2004, Edberg was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, USA.
Grand Slam singles finals
Wins (6)
Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final 1985 Australian Open Mats Wilander 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 1987 Australian Open Pat Cash 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3 1988 Wimbledon Boris Becker 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 1990 Wimbledon Boris Becker 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4 1991 U.S. Open Jim Courier 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 1992 U.S. Open Pete Sampras 3-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2
Runner-ups (5)
Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final 1989 French Open Michael Chang 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 1989 Wimbledon Boris Becker 6-0, 7-6, 6-4 1990 Australian Open Ivan Lendl 4-6, 7-6, 5-2 (retired) 1992 Australian Open Jim Courier 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 1993 Australian Open Jim Courier 6-2, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5
See also
External links
- Official ATP profile (http://www.atptennis.com/en/players/playerprofiles/default2.asp?playersearch=stefan+edberg)
- International Tennis Hall of Fame profile (http://www.tennisfame.com/enshrinees/edberg.html)
- Stefan Edberg - The perfect gentleman (http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Field/7039/edberg.html)
- STE...fans - a tribute to the great Stefan Edberg from all his fans (http://stefanstennis.free.fr)
- The Edberg Corner - Official Stefan Edberg Fanlisting (http://edbergcorner.free.fr)
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