Stefan Edberg
Encyclopedia
Stefan Bengt Edberg (born 19 January 1966 in Västervik
, Sweden
) 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. He also won one season ending championship title the Masters Grand Prix. In addition he won four Masters Series
titles and four Championship Series
titles.
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
. Edberg accidentally killed Dick Wertheim
with an errant serve during the 1983 US Open.
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.
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 hardcourt
s at the US Open (1991 and 1992).
or Boris Becker
but still had a very effective serve. Edberg would often choose to use a less powerful serve, such as a kick or slice serve. This extra time from using a slower serve gave Edberg more time to get to the net, where he used his quick feet and athleticism to gain control of the point at the net. Edberg also had excellent volley, and could easily redirect powerfully struck balls to the open court. He also had sufficient groundstrokes, and his one-handed backhand
is also one of his best shots.
racquets and Adidas
clothing.
in the opening round and Sergi Bruguera
in the finals on Sunday, 21 September 2008.
, Sweden.
He is married to Annette Hjort Olsen. They have two children, Emilie and Christopher. (Olsen was before her marriage to Edberg at one time romantically connected to Edberg's tennis rival Mats Wilander
.)
Edberg is a supporter of English football team Leeds United and the Swedish ice hockey
team Växjö Lakers.
Västervik
Västervik is a city and the seat of Västervik Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 20,694 inhabitants in 2005.- History :Västervik was first mentioned in 1275. The town was then located at the current location of Gamleby. In 1433 Eric of Pomerania decided to give it a charter and move it to its...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
) 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
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
singles titles and three Grand Slam men's doubles titles. He also won one season ending championship title the Masters Grand Prix. In addition he won four Masters Series
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...
titles and four Championship Series
Grand Prix Tennis Championship Series 1970-1989
The Championship Series of nine tennis tournaments, formed part of the Grand Prix and World Championship Tennis tours, and were held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia...
titles.
Career
Edberg first came to the tennis world's attention as a junior player. He won all four Grand SlamGrand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
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
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
. Edberg accidentally killed Dick Wertheim
Dick Wertheim
Richard Wertheim, known as Dick Wertheim, was an American tennis linesman who suffered a fatal injury on 10 September 1983 during a match at the 1983 US Open....
with an errant serve during the 1983 US Open.
In 1984, Edberg won his first top-level singles title in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. Edberg also won the tennis tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Tennis at the 1984 Summer Olympics - Men's Singles
Below the complete results of the Men's singles tennis competition during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, when tennis was re-introduced as a demonstration sport.-Seeds:# # # # ...
when the sport was an exhibition event and partnered with fellow Swede Anders Järryd
Anders Järryd
Anders Per Järryd is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. During his career he won eight Grand Slam doubles titles , reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 5.Järryd was born in Lidköping, Västra Götaland...
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
Mats Wilander
Mats Wilander is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Sweden. From 1982 through 1988, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , and one Grand Slam men's doubles title...
in straight sets to claim his first major title. In January 1987, he defended his title by defeating Pat Cash
Pat Cash
Patrick Hart "Pat" Cash is a retired Australian professional tennis player who won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1987.-Early career:...
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
Anders Järryd
Anders Per Järryd is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. During his career he won eight Grand Slam doubles titles , reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 5.Järryd was born in Lidköping, Västra Götaland...
).
In 1988, Edberg reached the first of three consecutive finals at Wimbledon. In all three finals, he played Boris Becker
Boris Becker
Boris Franz Becker is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. He is a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17...
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
Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player. Originally from Czechoslovakia, Lendl became a United States citizen. He was one of the game's most dominant players in the 1980s and remained a top competitor into the early 1990s. He is considered to be one of the greatest tennis...
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
Cincinnati Masters
The Cincinnati Open is an annual outdoor hardcourts tennis event held in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, USA. The event started on September 18, 1899 and is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city., Between...
. 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.
Edberg's final two Grand Slam singles triumphs came at the US Open, with wins over Jim Courier
Jim Courier
James Spencer "Jim" Courier, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won four Grand Slam singles titles, two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open...
in the 1991 final and Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....
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
Petr Korda
Petr Korda is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. He is best known for winning the Australian Open in 1998 and for testing positive for the banned substance, nandrolone, following a match at Wimbledon that same year.-Career:Korda was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia.He first...
.
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
Michael Chang
Michael Te-Pei Chang is a former American professional tennis player. He is best remembered for becoming the youngest-ever male player to win a Grand Slam singles title when he won the French Open in 1989 at the age of 17....
, 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 hardcourt
Hardcourt
Hardcourt or hard court describes a form of surface or floor on which a sport is played. It may refer to an indoor court made from a wood, or more specifically hardwood such as maple, as in basketball or indoor soccer. Alternatively, it may refer to outdoor materials such as asphalt, shale, or clay...
s at the US Open (1991 and 1992).
Style of play
Edberg is noted as one of the finest serve-and-volley players of his era. Edberg did not possess a powerful dominating serve like Pete SamprasPete Sampras
Pete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....
or Boris Becker
Boris Becker
Boris Franz Becker is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. He is a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17...
but still had a very effective serve. Edberg would often choose to use a less powerful serve, such as a kick or slice serve. This extra time from using a slower serve gave Edberg more time to get to the net, where he used his quick feet and athleticism to gain control of the point at the net. Edberg also had excellent volley, and could easily redirect powerfully struck balls to the open court. He also had sufficient groundstrokes, and his one-handed backhand
Backhand
The backhand is a tennis shot in which one swings the racquet around one's body in the direction where one wants the ball to go, usually performed from the baseline or as an approach shot. The term is also used in other racquet sports, and other areas where a similar motion is employed...
is also one of his best shots.
Equipment
In his whole career, Edberg used Wilson Sporting GoodsWilson Sporting Goods
The Wilson Sporting Goods Company is a sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois, and currently is a foreign subsidiary of the Finnish company Amer Sports....
racquets and Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
clothing.
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 MusterThomas Muster
Thomas Muster is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Austria. One of the world's leading clay court players in the 1990s, Muster won the 1995 French Open and at his peak was known as "The King of Clay." In addition, he won eight Masters 1000 series titles, placing him sixth on the all-time list...
in the opening round and Sergi Bruguera
Sergi Bruguera
Sergi Bruguera i Torner is a former professional tennis player from Spain. He is best remembered for winning consecutive men's singles titles at the French Open in 1993 and 1994.-Career:...
in the finals on Sunday, 21 September 2008.
Distinctions and honors
- Edberg also played on four Swedish Davis CupDavis CupThe Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
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 ProfessionalsAssociation of Tennis ProfessionalsThe Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
(ATP) computer rankings began, Edberg and John McEnroeJohn McEnroeJohn Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title...
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 YearATP AwardsThis is a list of all the awards given by the ATP World Tour to players of particular distinction during a given season. The 2011 awards were announced on November 19.-Player of the Year:-Doubles Team of the Year:-Most Improved Player:...
. Edberg won Player of the Year in 1990 and 1991 and Doubles Team of the Year (with fellow Swede Anders JärrydAnders JärrydAnders Per Järryd is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. During his career he won eight Grand Slam doubles titles , reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 5.Järryd was born in Lidköping, Västra Götaland...
) in 1986. - Edberg and Boris Becker are the only male tennis players ever to receive the United Press International Athlete of the Year AwardUnited Press International Athlete of the Year AwardThe United Press International Athlete of the Year Award was conferred annually between 1974 and 1995 one each to the individuals adjudged, without restriction to nationality or sport contested, to be the male and female athlete of the year by a panel of sportswriters and editors constituted under...
(with Edberg having received the award in 1990). - Edberg was also a member of the Swedish teams that won the World Team CupWorld Team CupThe World Team Cup is the international team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals . The tournament has been contested annually since 1978 and is generally considered to be second most prestigious men's team competition in tennis after the Davis Cup.Every year, the eight nations...
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 SeoulSeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, 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 FerreiraWayne FerreiraWayne Richard Ferreira is a former tennis player from South Africa. He attended Parktown Boys' High School....
). - He was ranked the World No. 1 in singles 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 FameInternational Tennis Hall of FameThe International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. The hall of fame and honors players and contributors to the sport of tennis and includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indoor tennis facility, and a court tennis facility.-History:The hall of fame and...
in Newport, Rhode IslandNewport, Rhode IslandNewport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, United States. - Edberg won singles titles in 12 different countries: Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, QatarQatarQatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. - Edberg is considered by Tennis MagazineTENNIS MagazineTennis Magazine is an American sports magazine owned by the Miller Publishing Group, LLC. It is a monthly magazine which covers news from the world of tennis.-History:...
as the 14th greatest player, counting both male and female tennis players, of the Tennis Era. Counting men only, Edberg ranks 8th. - Edberg was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold MedalSvenska Dagbladet Gold MedalThe Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal is an annual award "for the most significant Swedish sports achievement of the year". It has been awarded by a jury led by the Swedish morning paper Svenska Dagbladet since 1925. According to its statutes the Medal may be awarded in November or December to either...
in 1990. - Edberg was a childhood hero of Roger FedererRoger FedererRoger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
. - Edberg is one of the few players who reached the final of all four Grand SlamGrand Slam (tennis)The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
tournaments, winning three of them. In the 1989 French Open final, Edberg lead the match by two sets to one over Michael ChangMichael ChangMichael Te-Pei Chang is a former American professional tennis player. He is best remembered for becoming the youngest-ever male player to win a Grand Slam singles title when he won the French Open in 1989 at the age of 17....
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 WimbledonThe Championships, WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
semifinal against Miloslav MečířMiloslav MecírMiloslav Mečíř is a former professional tennis player from Slovakia. He won the men's singles gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games where he represented Czechoslovakia and played in two Grand Slam singles finals...
, the 1989 French Open semifinal against Boris BeckerBoris BeckerBoris Franz Becker is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. He is a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17...
, and the 1990 Wimbledon final against Becker. In the 1992 US Open, Edberg did it in three consecutive matches, against Richard KrajicekRichard KrajicekRichard Peter Stanislav Krajicek is a Dutch former professional tennis player. In 1996 he won the men's singles title at Wimbledon, the only Dutch player to have done so. In the quarterfinals of that tournament he defeated Pete Sampras. This was Sampras' only singles defeat at Wimbledon between...
in the fourth round, Ivan LendlIvan LendlIvan Lendl is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player. Originally from Czechoslovakia, Lendl became a United States citizen. He was one of the game's most dominant players in the 1980s and remained a top competitor into the early 1990s. He is considered to be one of the greatest tennis...
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 VästervikVästervik
Västervik is a city and the seat of Västervik Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 20,694 inhabitants in 2005.- History :Västervik was first mentioned in 1275. The town was then located at the current location of Gamleby. In 1433 Eric of Pomerania decided to give it a charter and move it to its...
, Sweden.
He is married to Annette Hjort Olsen. They have two children, Emilie and Christopher. (Olsen was before her marriage to Edberg at one time romantically connected to Edberg's tennis rival Mats Wilander
Mats Wilander
Mats Wilander is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Sweden. From 1982 through 1988, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , and one Grand Slam men's doubles title...
.)
Edberg is a supporter of English football team Leeds United and the Swedish ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team Växjö Lakers.
Records
- These records were attained in Open EraOpen eraOpen era or Open Era may refer to:* Open Era , the period since 1968 where professionals can compete in Grand Slams* Glasnost era, the increased openness in the Soviet Union from the mid-1980s...
of tennis.Grand Slam Years Record accomplished Player tied Australian Open 1985–93 5 finals overall Roger Federer Roger FedererRoger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...Australian Open 1985–87No Championship in 1986 2 consecutive wins Ken Rosewall Ken RosewallKenneth Robert Rosewall AM MBE is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won 23 Majors including eight Grand Slam singles titles and before the Open Era a record fifteen Pro Slam titles . Rosewall won 9 slams in doubles with a career double grand slam...
Guillermo VilasGuillermo VilasGuillermo Apolinario Vilas is a retired and former World No. 2 professional tennis player from Argentina. He was the second Latin-American to win a Grand Slam tournament.-Career:...
Johan KriekJohan KriekJohan Kriek is a South African American professional male tennis player and founder of the Global Water Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to delivering clean water to the world's neediest communities. Kriek has won two Australian Opens and has reached the semi-finals at the French...
Mats WilanderMats WilanderMats Wilander is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Sweden. From 1982 through 1988, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , and one Grand Slam men's doubles title...
Ivan LendlIvan LendlIvan Lendl is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player. Originally from Czechoslovakia, Lendl became a United States citizen. He was one of the game's most dominant players in the 1980s and remained a top competitor into the early 1990s. He is considered to be one of the greatest tennis...
Jim CourierJim CourierJames Spencer "Jim" Courier, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won four Grand Slam singles titles, two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open...
Andre AgassiAndre AgassiAndre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
Roger FedererRoger FedererRoger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...Grand Slam Tournaments 1985-91 Finalist in all four majors Rod Laver Rod LaverRodney George "Rod" Laver MBE is an Australian former tennis player who holds the record for titles won in career, and was the World No. 1 player for seven consecutive years, from 1964 to 1970...
Ken Rosewall Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Andre Agassi Roger Federer Rafael NadalRafael NadalRafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
Quote
- "If he hadn't lived", Edberg later said of Van Alen, "Michael and I might still be out there playing!"
- Background : James Henry Van Alen (famed for his invention of the tennis tiebreak) died on the same day in 1991 that Michael StichMichael StichMichael Detlef Stich is a former professional tennis player from Germany. He is best remembered for winning the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1991...
narrowly defeated Edberg in a WimbledonThe Championships, WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
semifinal 4–6, 7–6(5), 7–6(5), 7–6(2) where Edberg did not lose his serve.
- Background : James Henry Van Alen (famed for his invention of the tennis tiebreak) died on the same day in 1991 that Michael Stich
See also
- Becker–Edberg rivalryBecker–Edberg rivalryThe tennis players Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg met 35 times between 1984 and 1996. Although Becker led their overall head-to-head series 25–10, Edberg won three of their four meetings in Grand Slams. The most defining aspect of their rivalry was the three successive Wimbledon finals that...
- Tennis male players statisticsTennis male players statistics-Professional tennis before the start of the open era:Before the start of the open era in 1968, the professional circuit was much less popular than the traditional amateur circuit. For example, Wimbledon in 1957 was a success despite its being an amateur-only tournament and exclusion of Pancho...
- World number one male tennis player rankings
- List of Swedes in sports
- Dick WertheimDick WertheimRichard Wertheim, known as Dick Wertheim, was an American tennis linesman who suffered a fatal injury on 10 September 1983 during a match at the 1983 US Open....
, a linesman who died in 1983 after being struck by one of Edberg's serves.