Stefan Edberg
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| Country |  Sweden |
|
| Residence | London, England | |
| Date of birth | January 19, 1966 | |
| Place of birth | Västervik, Sweden | |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (187 cm) | |
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg) | |
| Turned Pro | 1983 | |
| Retired | 1996 | |
| Plays | Right; One-handed backhand | |
| Career Prize Money | $20,630,941 | |
| Singles | ||
| Career record: | 806-270 | |
| Career titles: | 42 | |
| Highest ranking: | No. 1 ( August 13, 1990) | |
| Grand Slam results | ||
| Australian Open | W (1985, 1987) | |
| French Open | F (1989) | |
| Wimbledon | W (1988, 1990) | |
| U.S. Open | W (1991, 1992) | |
| Doubles | ||
| Career record: | 283-153 | |
| Career titles: | 18 | |
| Highest ranking: | No. 1 ( June 9, 1986) | |
|
Infobox last updated on: August 19, 2006. |
||
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Tennis | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 1988 Seoul | Singles | |
| Bronze | 1988 Seoul | Doubles | |
Stefan Bengt Edberg (born January 19, 1966 in Västervik, Sweden) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player (in both singles and doubles play) 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 players of all time, for his superb volleying skills, and as a gentleman and ambassador for the sport.
Career
Edberg first came to the tennis world's attention as a junior player. He won all four of the Grand Slam junior titles in 1983 to become the first-ever player to achieve the "Junior Grand Slam."
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 singles titles came at the Australian Open. In 1985, he defeated Mats Wilander in straight sets to claim his first major title. Two years later, he beat Pat Cash in five sets to win the last Australian Open held on grass courts. Edberg also won the Australian Open and U.S. 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. Edberg won their first encounter in a four-set match spread over three 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.
Edberg claimed the World No. 1 ranking in August 1990 by winning the Cincinnati Masters. He held it for the rest of that year and for much of 1991 and 1992.
Edberg's final two Grand Slam singles triumphs came at the U.S. 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 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).
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 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 (broken by Wayne Ferreira). He was ranked the World No. 1 for a total of 72 weeks. Edberg was also a five-time recipient of the Association of Tennis Professionals' (ATP) Sportsmanship Award (1988-90, 1992, and 1995). 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.
Trivia
- Edberg won singles titles in 12 different countries: Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States.
- Edberg was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1990.
- Edberg was involved in a freak accident during the boys' singles final at the 1983 US Open, when Richard Wertheim, a linesman, was struck in the groin by a ball struck by Edberg. Wertheim fell backwards, fracturing his skull, and died in hospital shortly thereafter.
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 (2) |  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 (2) | 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 (2) | 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 |
Grand Slam men's doubles finals
Wins (3)
| Year | Championship | Partnering | Opponents in Final | Score/Final |
| 1987 | Australian Open | Anders Jarryd |
Peter Doohan Laurie Warder |
6-4, 6-4, 7-6 |
| 1987 | U.S. Open | Anders Jarryd |
Ken Flach Robert Seguso |
7-6, 6-2, 4-6, 5-7, 7-6 |
| 1996 | Australian Open (2) |  Petr Korda |
Alex O'Brien Sebastien Lareau |
7-5, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 |
Runner-ups (2)
| Year | Championship | Partnering | Opponents in Final | Score/Final |
| 1984 | U.S. Open | Anders Jarryd |
John Fitzgerald Tomas Smid |
7-6, 6-3, 6-3 |
| 1986 | French Open | Petr Korda |
John Fitzgerald Tomas Smid |
6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 14-12 |
Masters Series singles finals
Wins (4)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1990 | Indian Wells | Andre Agassi |
6-4, 5-7, 7-6, 7-6 |
| 1990 | Cincinnati | Brad Gilbert |
6-1, 6-1 |
| 1990 | Paris | Boris Becker |
3-3 Ret. |
| 1992 | Hamburg | Michael Stich |
5-7, 6-4, 6-1 |
Runner-ups (5)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1990 | Key Biscane | Andre Agassi |
6-1, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 |
| 1990 | Stockholm | Boris Becker |
6-4, 6-0, 6-3 |
| 1991 | Stockholm | Boris Becker |
3-6, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 |
| 1993 | Cincinnati | Michael Chang |
7-5, 0-6, 6-4 |
| 1994 | Cincinnati | Michael Chang |
6-2, 7-5 |
Singles titles (42)
- 1984 (2) – Milan, Los Angeles Olympics (demonstration sport)
- 1985 (4) – Memphis, San Francisco, Basel, Australian Open
- 1986 (3) – Gstaad, Basel, Stockholm
- 1987 (7) – Australian Open, Memphis, Rotterdam, Tokyo Outdoor, Cincinnati, Tokyo Indoor, Stockholm
- 1988 (3) – Rotterdam, Wimbledon, Basel
- 1989 (2) – Tokyo Outdoor, Masters
- 1990 (7) – Indian Wells, Tokyo Outdoor, Wimbledon, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Long Island, Paris Indoor
- 1991 (6) – Stuttgart Indoor, Tokyo Outdoor, Queen's Club, U.S. Open, Sydney Indoor, Tokyo Indoor
- 1992 (3) – Hamburg, New Haven, U.S. Open
- 1993 (1) – Madrid
- 1994 (3) – Doha, Stuttgart Indoor, Washington, D.C.
- 1995 (1) – Doha
Doubles titles (18)
- 1984 (1) - Hamburg
- 1985 (4) - Bastad, Brussels, Cincinnati, Doubles Masters
- 1986 (3) - Los Angeles, Doubles Masters, Rotterdam
- 1987 (6) - Montreal/Toronto, Australian Open, Bastad, Rotterdam, Stockholm, US Open
- 1991 (1) - Tokyo Outdoor
- 1993 (1) - Monte Carlo
- 1995 (1) - Doha
- 1996 (1) - Australian Open
Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
| Tournament | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | 2R | QF | W | NH | W | SF | QF | F | SF | F | F | SF | 4R | 2R | 2 / 13 |
| French Open | A | A | 2R | QF | 2R | 2R | 4R | F | 1R | QF | 3R | QF | 1R | 2R | 4R | 0 / 13 |
| Wimbledon | A | 2R | 2R | 4R | 3R | SF | W | F | W | SF | QF | SF | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2 / 14 |
| US Open | A | 1R | 2R | 4R | SF | SF | 4R | 4R | 1R | W | W | 2R | 3R | 3R | QF | 2 / 14 |
| SR | 0 / 0 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 1 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 1 / 4 | 1 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 1 / 4 | 1 / 4 | 1 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 6 / 54 |
NH = tournament not held
A = did not participate in the tournament
SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played
Masters Series performance timeline
| Tournament | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Wells Masters | A | A | A | A | A | F | 2R | 2R | W | SF | A | 2R | SF | SF | 2R | 1 / 9 |
| Miami Masters | A | A | A | QF | SF | QF | A | A | F | SF | 3R | QF | QF | 2R | 4R | 0 / 10 |
| Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | A | SF | 2R | A | A | 3R | 2R | A | SF | SF | 1R | 2R | 0 / 8 |
| Rome Masters | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | QF | 0 / 3 |
| Hamburg Masters | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | W | 3R | 2R | A | A | 1 / 5 |
| Canada Masters | A | A | A | QF | F | F | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | 0 / 5 |
| Cincinnati Masters | A | A | QF | QF | SF | W | F | F | W | QF | SF | F | F | 1R | 2R | 2 / 13 |
| Stuttgart Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | W | F | A | W | A | 2R | 2 / 4 |
| Paris Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | F | W | 3R | QF | SF | 2R | A | QF | 1 / 7 |
| Masters | A | A | A | 1R | SF | SF | SF | W | F | A | RR | RR | RR | A | A | 1 / 9 |
Note: These events were designated as the 'Masters Series' only after the ATP took over the running of the men's tour in 1990.
A = did not participate in the tournament
SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played
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.