Stefan Edberg

Infobox Tennis player


playername= Stefan Edberg
country= SWE
residence= Växjö, Sweden
datebirth= birth date and age|df=yes|1966|1|19
placebirth= Västervik, Sweden
height= height|m=1.87
weight= convert|77|kg|lb st|abbr=on|lk=on
turnedpro= 1983
retired= 1996
plays= Right-handed; one-handed backhand
grip= Continental
careerprizemoney= $20,630,941
singlesrecord= 806–270 (74.9%)
singlestitles= 42
highestsinglesranking= No. 1 (13 August 1990)
AustralianOpenresult= W (1985, 1987)
FrenchOpenresult= F (1989)
Wimbledonresult= W (1988, 1990)
USOpenresult= W (1991, 1992)
Othertournaments = Yes
MastersCupresult = W (1989)
Olympicsresult = W (1984, demonstration event)
Bronze medal (1988)
doublesrecord= 283–153
doublestitles= 18
highestdoublesranking= No. 1 (9 June 1986)
OthertournamentsDoubles= Yes
OlympicsDoublesresult = Bronze Medal (1988)
updated = 19 August 2006

Stefan Bengt Edberg (born 19 January 1966 in Västervik, Sweden) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player (in both singles and doubles play) from Sweden. A major proponent of the serve-and-volley style of tennis, he won six Grand Slam singles titles and three Grand Slam doubles titles during the course of his career.

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 defended his title (as the tournament was not held in 1986) and beat 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 great rivalries. 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 after being down a break in the fifth set.

Edberg claimed the World No. 1 ranking from Ivan Lendl in August 1990 by winning the Cincinnati Masters. He held it for the rest of that year and for much of 1991 and 1992. He spent a total of 72 weeks as World No. 1 during his career. [ [http://www.tenniscorner.net/index.php?corner=m&action=stats&stats=no1 Weeks at Number One] ]

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 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. [ [http://www.blackrocktourofchampions.com/5/news/2008/paris_sunday.asp Edberg Hits Back For First BlackRock Title] BlackRock Tour Of Champions, 21 September 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2008.]

Playing style

Edberg has been called one of the greatest, if not the greatest, serve-and-volley players of all time.Fact|date=September 2008 Edberg often utilizes a topspin or kick serve with a high toss somewhat behind his back to generate spin and allow time to close into the net to strike the first volley. He has the ability to come in successfully off both the first and second serves. With excellent footwork and quick hands, Edberg missed few volleys especially during his prime. Edberg also possesses one of the best one-hand backhands of all time that is often described as "textbook" in form.Fact|date=September 2008 While Edberg's forehand is a relative weakness, his overall game has been described as graceful and artistic as it is effective.Fact|date=September 2008

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 Jarryd) 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) [ [http://www.championsseriestennis.com/player.php?id=7 Champions Series Tennis - Player Profile ] ] .
*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, The Netherlands, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
* Edberg was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1990.
* Edberg was a childhood hero of former 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 semifinal, Edberg went on to win the title.
* Edberg's distinctive serve is used as the logo for the Australian Open.Fact|date=March 2008

Trivia

* 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 hit by Edberg. Wertheim fell backwards, fracturing his skull, and died in hospital shortly thereafter. [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/08/06/1060145730518.html "Sporting Life"] Accessed 28 January 2007.]
* Edberg is a supporter of English football team Leeds United. [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/andrewbaker/2326921/Stefan-Edberg-returns-to-play-Tim-Henman.html Stefan Edberg returns to play Tim Henman] ]

Major career finals

Grand Slam singles finals (11)

Wins (6)

Runner-ups (2)

ingles performance timeline

Runner-ups (11)

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.

ee also

*Tennis male players statistics
*World number one male tennis player rankings
*List of Swedes in sports

References

External links

*ATP|id=E004
* [http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/legends/edberg.asp ATP Legends Profile Stefan Edberg]
*ITF male profile|number=10000393
*DavisCupplayerlink|id=10000393
* [http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=103 International Tennis Hall of Fame profile]