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Becker–Edberg rivalry

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The Becker–Edberg rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, who met 35 times between 1984 and 1996.[1] Although Becker led their overall head-to-head 25–10 and won all three of their Davis Cup matches, Edberg won three of their four meetings in Grand Slams. Edberg and Becker also reached the championship match of the 1989 World Tour Finals, which Edberg won in four sets. Edberg led their five-set matches at 2–1.

The most defining aspect of their rivalry was the three successive Wimbledon finals that they played. In the 1988 meeting, Becker was the huge favorite, and stormed to the first set 6–4. The second set was to be the most memorable, when in a fit of courage and tennis acumen Edberg won a tight set in a tiebreaker 7–2. Edberg went on to win the next two sets 6–4, 6–2 to win his first Wimbledon title and deny Becker a third title in four years. In the 1989 meeting, Becker, having lost to Edberg a month earlier in the French Open semifinals, raced to win the first set 6–0. The second set was closer, but won in a tiebreak by Becker 7–1 after saving 3 set points (Edberg led 6-5 40-0 and service). Becker went on to win the third set 6–4. This was Becker's third Wimbledon title, which would be his last Wimbledon crown. In the 1990 meeting, Edberg won the first two sets 6–2, 6–2. However, Becker rallied to win the next two sets 6–3, 6–3. Becker broke Edberg early in the fifth set, setting up the possibility of being the first Wimbledon champion since Henri Cochet in 1927 to win the final after losing the first two sets. Yet, this was not to be as Edberg regained the break and then broke Becker in the ninth game of the set with a topspin lob winner, eventually serving it out for a second Wimbledon championship.[2][3][4][5]

Following his 2009 Wimbledon final (where he broke the all-time record for most men's singles Grand Slam titles), Roger Federer in the post-match press conference cited the Becker–Edberg rivalry in Wimbledon finals as his inspiration for choosing to play tennis over soccer.[6] Becker and Edberg continued their rivalry as coaches through the Djokovic–Federer rivalry, with Becker coaching Novak Djokovic and Edberg coaching Federer starting from the 2014 season. Federer and Edberg parted ways at the end of 2015. Djokovic and Becker split the year after.[7]

Head-to-head

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Legend Becker Edberg
Grand Slam 1 3
ATP Tour Finals 4 2
WCT Finals 2 0
ATP Masters Series 2 1
ATP International Series 13 4
Davis Cup 3 0
Total 25 10

Singles (35)

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Becker 25 – Edberg 10

No. Year Tournament Surface Round Winner Score Becker Edberg
1. 1984 Cologne Grand Prix Hard (i) Last 32 Edberg 6–4, 6–4 0 1
2. 1985 US Pro Indoor Carpet Last 32 Edberg 6–3, 6–1 0 2
3. 1985 Alan King Tennis Classic Hard Last 16 Becker 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 6–2 1 2
4. 1985 Davis Cup Carpet Final Becker 6–3, 3–6, 7–5, 8–6 2 2
5. 1986 WCT Finals Carpet Semifinals Becker 7–6(7–4), 7–6(9–7), 4–6, 7–6(7–2) 3 2
6. 1986 Canadian Open Hard Final Becker 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 4 2
7. 1986 Tokyo Indoor Carpet Final Becker 7–6(7–5), 6–1 5 2
8. 1986 Masters Grand Prix Carpet Semifinals Becker 6–4, 6–4 6 2
9. 1987 Indian Wells Masters Hard Final Becker 6–4, 6–4, 7–5 7 2
10. 1987 Canadian Open Hard Semifinals Edberg 6–2, 6–4 7 3
11. 1987 Cincinnati Open Hard Final Edberg 6–4, 6–1 7 4
12. 1988 WCT Finals Carpet Final Becker 6–4, 1–6, 7–5, 6–2 8 4
13. 1988 Queen's Club Championships Grass Final Becker 6–1, 3–6, 6–3 9 4
14. 1988 Wimbledon Grass Final Edberg 4–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–4, 6–2 9 5
15. 1988 Masters Grand Prix Carpet Round Robin Edberg 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 6–4 9 6
16. 1988 Davis Cup Clay Final Becker 6–3, 6–1, 6–4 10 6
17. 1989 French Open Clay Semifinals Edberg 6–3, 6–4, 5–7, 3–6, 6–2 10 7
18. 1989 Wimbledon Grass Final Becker 6–0, 7–6(7–1), 6–4 11 7
19. 1989 Paris Open Carpet Final Becker 6–4, 6–3, 6–3 12 7
20. 1989 Masters Grand Prix Carpet Round Robin Becker 6–1, 6–4 13 7
21. 1989 Masters Grand Prix Carpet Final Edberg 4–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–3, 6–1 13 8
22. 1989 Davis Cup Carpet Final Becker 6–2, 6–2, 6–4 14 8
23. 1990 Queen's Club Championships Grass Semifinals Becker 6–4, 6–4 15 8
24. 1990 Wimbledon Grass Final Edberg 6–2, 6–2, 3–6, 3–6, 6–4 15 9
25. 1990 Sydney Indoor Hard (i) Final Becker 7–6(7–4), 6–4, 6–4 16 9
26. 1990 Stockholm Open Carpet Final Becker 6–4, 6–0, 6–3 17 9
27. 1990 Paris Open Carpet Final Edberg 3–3 RET 17 10
28. 1991 Stockholm Open Carpet Final Becker 3–6, 6–4, 1–6, 6–2, 6–2 18 10
29. 1992 Brussels Indoor Carpet Semifinals Becker 4–6, 6–4, 6–2 19 10
30. 1992 ATP Tour World Championships Carpet Round Robin Becker 6–4, 6–0 20 10
31. 1993 Qatar Open Hard Semifinals Becker 6–4, 6–4 21 10
32. 1994 ATP Tour World Championships Carpet Round Robin Becker 6–7(3–7), 6–4, 7–5 22 10
33. 1995 Swiss Indoors Hard (i) Quarterfinals Becker 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 23 10
34. 1996 Qatar Open Hard Last 32 Becker 6–2, 7–5 24 10
35. 1996 Queen's Club Championships Grass Final Becker 6–4, 7–6(7–3) 25 10

Breakdown of their rivalry

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  • All matches:(35) Becker 25–10
  • All finals: Becker 11–5
    • Carpet courts: Becker 13–4
    • Clay courts: Tied 1–1
    • Grass courts: Becker 4–2
    • Hard courts: Becker 7–3
    • Davis Cup matches: Becker 3–0
    • Grand Slam finals: Edberg 2–1
    • Grand Slam matches: Edberg 3–1
    • Masters Series finals: Becker 2–1
    • Masters Series matches: Becker 2–1
    • Year-End Championships finals: Edberg 1–0
    • Year-End Championships matches: Becker 4–2

ATP rankings

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Year-end ranking timeline

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Player 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Germany Boris Becker 563 66 6 2 5 4 2 2 3 5 11 3 4 6 62 69 131
Sweden Stefan Edberg 523 53 20 5 5 2 5 3 1 1 2 5 7 23 14

Combined singles performance timeline (best result)

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Tournament 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 SR
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open 2R QF W NH W SF QF F W F F SF 4R W 1R A A 4 / 14
French Open A 2R QF QF SF 4R F 1R SF 3R QF 1R 3R 4R A A A 0 / 13
Wimbledon 2R 3R W W SF W W W F QF SF SF F 3R QF A 4R 5 / 16
US Open 1R 2R 4R SF SF 4R W SF W W 4R 3R SF QF A A A 3 / 14

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ten great tennis rivalries". The Independent. July 8, 2008. Retrieved 2010-12-08. Boris Becker v Stefan Edberg. Time span: '84–96 (35 matches) Head to head: Becker 25, Edberg 10. Grand Slam finals: Three; Edberg won two. Wimbledon: Three finals, 1988, 1989, 1990.
  2. ^ Rajat Jain. "Wimbledon Rivalries: Elegance vs. Charisma". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 24 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  3. ^ "Wimbledon's greatest rivalries". Wimbledon. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  4. ^ John Parsons (2003-04-29). "Becker resumes Edberg rivalry". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  5. ^ "Most notable tennis rivalries (Open era)". The Boston Globe. 2006-08-25.
  6. ^ Sarah Crompton. "Stefan Edberg's appointment as coach to Roger Federer helps revive memories of a past era". Telegraph.
  7. ^ Peter Bodo. "Two rivalries for the price of one in Wimbledon final". ESPN.
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