Edberg first came to the tennis world's attention as a junior player. In the early 1980s, he won the European Junior Championships in the Under 14 and Under 16 categories, beating Jonas Svensson in both finals.[3][4] He then won all four Grand Slam junior titles in 1983 to become the first (and only) player to achieve the "Junior Grand Slam" in the open era.[5]
1983–1985: Teenage Grand Slam champion
In 1983 Edberg won his first career doubles title in Basel. In 1984, Edberg won his first top-level singles title in Milan.[1] 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, defeating Yannick Noah in the final. Edberg's first two Grand Slam singles titles came at the Australian Open. In December 1985, he defeated No. 1 Ivan Lendl in a five-set epic Australian Open semi-final match which was stopped multiple times by rain and played over two days.[6][7][8] He then defeated Mats Wilander in straight sets to claim his first major title.
1986–1989: Continuing success
Edberg reached the semi finals of the US Open in 1986 but lost in straight sets to Lendl.[9] In January 1987, he defended his title by defeating local favourite Pat Cash in five sets to win the last Australian Open held on grass courts. Edberg reached the Wimbledon semi finals but lost in four sets to Lendl.[10] He lost in four sets to Wilander in the US Open semi finals (Wilander made 9 unforced errors to Edberg's 44).[11] Edberg also won the Australian Open and US Open men's doubles titles in 1987 (partnering fellow Swede Anders Järryd).
In 1988, Edberg lost in the Australian Open semi finals in five sets to Wilander (Edberg made 38 more unforced errors than his opponent).[12] He reached the first of three consecutive finals at Wimbledon, but lost his ranking as Sweden's number-one-player when Mats Wilander had his best year by winning the Australian, French and US Opens, becoming the world's number-one-ranked player. In all three of his consecutive Wimbledon finals, Edberg played German 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.
Edberg reached the 1989 French Open final (beating Becker in the semis in five sets) but lost in five sets to 17-year-old Michael Chang, who became the youngest-ever male winner of a Grand Slam singles title. This was the only Grand Slam singles title that Edberg never won, denying him the completion of a career Grand Slam at the senior level, to match his junior Grand Slam. Becker won the Wimbledon final in straight sets over Edberg. Edberg gained revenge on Becker in the Masters final. After being a point away from a two set lead, Becker lost in four sets.[13]
1990–1992: No. 1 and final Grand Slam singles titles
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. The closest of the Becker-Edberg Wimbledon finals came in the 1990 final. Becker led 3–1 in the fifth set but missed two easy forehand volleys and lost his serve, then at 4–4 Edberg hit a topspin lob to break Becker again and then held to win the match.[14] Edberg 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.
In the 1991 Australian Open semi finals, Edberg served for the match against Lendl leading 5-4 in the fourth set and had two match points but went on to lose in five sets.[15] Edberg again reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon but lost to Michael Stich in four sets (losing three sets on tie breaks). Edberg's final two Grand Slam singles victories came at the US Open. In 1991 he defeated Jim Courier in the final in straight sets. Edberg was "a model of all-court brilliance and coolheadedness" and said afterwards it was the best match he had ever played.[16] Courier gained his revenge by winning the 1992 Australian Open final in four sets. At 1992 US Open Edberg was a break down in the fifth set against Richard Krajicek in the fourth round but won.[17] He then defeated Lendl in a five-set thriller spread over two days in the quarterfinals, having been a break down in the fifth set.[17][18][19][20][21] He then defeated Michael Chang in the longest US Open match in history at the time, in the semi-finals, at 5 hours and 26 minutes, after being a break down in the fifth set.[17][22] Edberg defeated Pete Sampras in the final in four sets (after Sampras had served for a two sets to one lead) to win his sixth and last Grand Slam singles title.[17]
1993–1996: Decline
In 1993, Edberg lost to Jim Courier in the Australian Open final in four sets. He was one of the few players who reached the finals of the Australian Open five times. The 1993 Australian Open final was Edberg's last Grand Slam singles final appearance. He reached the Wimbledon semi finals but lost in four sets to Courier (Courier "used his attacking baseline game to keep Edberg off balance").[23]
Edberg reached the Australian Open semi finals in 1994 but lost in four sets to Todd Martin. "Martin continually left Edberg watching at the net as passing shots flew by".[24] This was Edberg's last Grand Slam singles semi final. In 1996, Edberg won his third and final Grand Slam doubles title at the Australian Open with Petr Korda. He reached the final of Queens Club but lost the match to Boris Becker. He reached the quarterfinals of his last US Open after defeating Richard Krajicek and Tim Henman, but lost in the quarterfinals to Goran Ivanišević. He retired at the end of the year.
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).
Style of play
Edberg is noted as one of the finest serve-and-volley players of his era.[25] Edberg did not possess a powerful dominating serve like Pete Sampras or Boris Becker, but his serve was still largely effective. Edberg often chose to use a less powerful serve, such as a kick or slice serve. The 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. Edberg's volleying skills were among the very best and he could easily redirect powerfully struck balls to the open court. He had sufficient groundstrokes, and his one-handed backhand was one of his marquee shots. Edberg played a two-handed backhand in his youth, but switched to a one-hander relatively late in his development, after winning the European Junior Championships.[26][bettersourceneeded] Edberg's backhand was extremely effective and considered amongst the best of his era.
Equipment
Throughout his career, Edberg used Wilson[27] racquets and Adidas clothing and shoes.
Post-career competitive racquet sports
Edberg began playing competitive squash after his retirement from professional tennis and soon became an elite player in Sweden.[28] When racketlon emerged as a growing sport in Scandinavia, Edberg's pro-level tennis ability and emerging squash prowess made him highly competitive, despite his relative inexperience in badminton and table tennis.
In September 2008, Stefan Edberg officially joined the "Black Rock Tour of Champions", a tour for professional tennis players who have retired from the ATP Tour. Edberg won his first tournament in Paris held on clay, winning matches against clay court specialistsThomas Muster in the opening round and Sergi Bruguera in the finals.[29]
Edberg signed a contract to become Roger Federer's coach at the end of 2013.[30] Federer described Edberg's role as "more of a mentor than a coach";[31] nonetheless, his influence was widely regarded as pivotal in the Swiss champion's eventual resurgence,[32][33] especially in bringing effective and more frequent serve-and-volley and net charging to his game.[34][35] Their collaboration ended in December 2015.[36]
Distinctions and honors
Edberg 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.
Until 2016, the Australian Open logo was a silhouette of Stefan Edberg's unique service action. It was then changed to the current logo to make it more friendly for the digital medium.[37]
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 also the only player to achieve the "Junior Grand Slam" in the history of the game.
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 41 top-level singles titles (6 majors) and 18 doubles titles (3 majors) and appeared in a then record 54 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments (since then broken by Wayne Ferreira).[38]
He was ranked the world no. 1 in singles for a total of 72 weeks.
Edberg was a then-record 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 1996, Edberg won the Philippe Chatrier Award for his contribution to tennis both on and off the court.
Edberg won singles titles in 12 countries: Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
In 2008, Edberg was considered by Tennis Magazine to be the 14th greatest player, counting both male and female tennis players, of the Tennis Era. Counting men only, Edberg ranked eighth.[39]
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 led the match by two sets to one over Michael Chang and broke Chang's serve in the opening game of the fourth set, only for Chang to break right back. From 1–1 to 4–4 in the fourth set, every Chang service game was a struggle where Chang had to save 11 break points while Edberg held comfortably in his service games. At 5–4 to Chang in the fourth set, Chang broke Edberg's serve against the run of play to win the set. Edberg was also a break up early in the fifth set, but Chang won the fifth set 6–2 to take the title at the age of 17.
Edberg was born in Västervik, Sweden. He is married to Annette Hjort Olsen, whom he married in April 1992. They have two children, Emilie and Christopher.[40] Olsen was previously in a relationship with Edberg's tennis rival Mats Wilander before her relationship with Edberg began in 1985.[41]
Edberg is considered by many to be one of the greatest tennis players of his era.[44] In his home country, together with Mats Wilander, he is commonly regarded as the best Swedish tennis player after Björn Borg.
Stefan Edberg (Achievement predecessor & successor)
Sporting positions
Precededby
Ivan Lendl Boris Becker Boris Becker Jim Courier Jim Courier
World No. 1 13 August 1990 – 27 January 1991 18 February 1991 – 7 July 1991 9 September 1991 – 9 February 1992 23 March 1992 – 12 April 1992 14 September 1992 – 4 October 1992
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