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Swedish tennis player (born 1966) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jan Stefan Edberg (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈstěːfan ˈêːdbærj]; born 19 January 1966) is a Swedish former world No. 1 professional tennis player. A major practitioner of the serve-and-volley style of tennis, he won six Grand Slam singles titles and three Grand Slam men's doubles titles between 1985 and 1996. He is one of only two men in the Open Era to have been ranked world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, the other being John McEnroe. Edberg also won the Masters Grand Prix and was a part of the Swedish Davis Cup-winning team four times. In addition, he won four Masters Series titles, four Championship Series titles and the unofficial 1984 Olympic tournament, was ranked in the singles top 10 for ten successive years and ranked nine years in the top 5. After retirement, Edberg began coaching Roger Federer in January 2014, with this partnership ending in December 2015.[2]
Edberg in 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Jan Stefan Edberg | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  Sweden | |||||||||||||||||
| Residence | London, England | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 January 1966 Västervik, Sweden | |||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 1983 | |||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1996 | |||||||||||||||||
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) | |||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Tony Pickard | |||||||||||||||||
| Prize money | US$20,630,941 | |||||||||||||||||
| Int. Tennis HoF | 2004 (member page) | |||||||||||||||||
| Singles | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career record | 801–270 (74.8%) | |||||||||||||||||
| Career titles | 41 | |||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (13 August 1990) | |||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam singles results | ||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | W (1985, 1987) | |||||||||||||||||
| French Open | F (1989) | |||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | W (1988, 1990) | |||||||||||||||||
| US Open | W (1991, 1992) | |||||||||||||||||
| Other tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tour Finals | W (1989) | |||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam Cup | SF (1993) | |||||||||||||||||
| WCT Finals | F (1988) | |||||||||||||||||
| Doubles | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career record | 283–153 (64.9%) | |||||||||||||||||
| Career titles | 18 | |||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (9 June 1986) | |||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam doubles results | ||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | W (1987, 1996) | |||||||||||||||||
| French Open | F (1986) | |||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | SF (1987) | |||||||||||||||||
| US Open | W (1987) | |||||||||||||||||
| Other doubles tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tour Finals | W (1985, 1986) | |||||||||||||||||
| Olympic Games | SF (1988) | |||||||||||||||||
| Team competitions | ||||||||||||||||||
| Davis Cup | W (1984, 1985, 1987, 1994) | |||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career (2014–2015) | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching achievements | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coachee singles titles total | 10 | |||||||||||||||||
| List of notable tournaments (with champion) 3 x ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (Federer) | ||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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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] Later that year as a professional, 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 in the Australian Open semifinals 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. 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 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, 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. 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 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. 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.
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. In 1991, Edberg again reached the semifinals of Wimbledon but lost to Michael Stich in a close match: 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 6–7.[9]
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 (who was just months away from attaining the world No. 1 ranking) in the 1992 final. At the 1992 US Open, Edberg defeated Lendl in a five-set thriller spread over 2 days in the quarterfinals.[10][11][12][13] He then beat Michael Chang in the longest US Open match in history, in the semifinals, at 5 hours and 26 minutes.[14]
Edberg reached the finals of the Australian Open again in 1992 and 1993, losing both times to Jim Courier 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.
In 1996, Edberg reached the finals of Queens Club but lost the match to Boris Becker. He won his third and final Grand Slam doubles title at the Australian Open with Petr Korda. He reached the quarterfinals of his last US Open after defeating Richard Krajicek and Tim Henman, but lost in the quarterfinals to Goran Ivanišević.
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).
In December 2013, Edberg began coaching Roger Federer.[15] His coaching stint ended in December 2015[16] after which Federer hired Ivan Ljubičić as coach.
Edberg is noted as one of the finest serve-and-volley players of his era.[17] 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's backhand was extremely effective and considered amongst the best of his era.
Throughout his career, Edberg used Wilson[18] racquets and Adidas clothing and shoes.
Edberg began playing competitive squash after his retirement from professional tennis and soon became an elite player in Sweden.[19] 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 specialists Thomas Muster in the opening round and Sergi Bruguera in the finals.[20]
In January 2012, Edberg played a one-set exhibition against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Doha, Qatar, and lost 5–7.
Edberg signed a contract to become Roger Federer's coach at the end of 2013. Their collaboration officially started at the 2014 Australian Open. Federer described Edberg's role as "more of a mentor than a coach";[21] nonetheless, his influence has been widely regarded as pivotal in the Swiss champion's eventual resurgence,[22][23] especially in bringing effective and more frequent serve-and-volley and net charging to his game.[24][25] Their collaboration ended in December 2015.[26]
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.[30] Olsen was previously in a relationship with Edberg's tennis rival Mats Wilander before her relationship with Edberg began in 1985.[31]
Edberg is a supporter of English football team Leeds United[32] and the Swedish ice hockey team Växjö Lakers.[33]
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | SR | W–L | Win % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | 2R | QF | W | NH | W | SF | QF | F | SF | F | F | SF | 4R | 2R | 2 / 13 | 56–10 | 84.85 | ||
| French Open | A | 2R | QF | 2R | 2R | 4R | F | 1R | QF | 3R | QF | 1R | 2R | 4R | 0 / 13 | 30–13 | 69.77 | ||
| Wimbledon | 2R | 2R | 4R | 3R | SF | W | F | W | SF | QF | SF | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2 / 14 | 49–12 | 80.33 | ||
| US Open | 1R | 2R | 4R | SF | SF | 4R | 4R | 1R | W | W | 2R | 3R | 3R | QF | 2 / 14 | 43–12 | 78.18 | ||
| Win–loss | 1–3 | 6–4 | 16–3 | 8–3 | 17–3 | 18–3 | 19–3 | 13–3 | 21–3 | 19–3 | 16–4 | 8–4 | 7–4 | 9–4 | 6 / 54 | 178–47 | 79.11 | ||
| Championship | Years | Record accomplished | Player tied |
| Japan Open | 1987, 1989–1991 | 4 singles titles | Stands alone |
| No. 1 ranking | 1986–1992 | Achieved both in singles and doubles | John McEnroe |
| Fewest games match | 1987 | Triple bagel win (6–0, 6–0, 6–0) | Nikola Špear Karel Nováček Ivan Lendl Sergi Bruguera |
| ATP Championship series | 1991 | 4 titles won in a single season | Boris Becker Juan Martín del Potro |
Edberg is considered by many to be one of the greatest tennis players of his era.[34] In his home country, together with Mats Wilander, he is commonly regarded as the best Swedish tennis player after Björn Borg.
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