By Scoop Malinowski
Status: Tennis Hall of Famer. Former ATP no. 1 ranked player in 1988 and winner of seven Grand Slam singles titles. Currently serves as a TV analyst for Eurosport.
Ht: 6-0 Wt: 163
DOB: August 22, 1964 In: Vaxjo, Sweden
Tennis Inspiration: “As in person? Just like the game. Just like the game. (No players?) Because I started before Borg. I started without seeing tennis on TV so there couldn’t be any player, you know what I’m saying?”
Hobbies/Interests: “I play golf in the summer. And downhill skiing. And play a little music sometimes.”
Favorite Movie: “The Last Waltz.”
Favorite TV Show: “Same thing, I don’t have any since I didn’t grow up here. Never watch TV anymore.”
Musical Tastes: “Bob Dylan, Dire Straits, two favorites.”
First Tennis Memory: “Is hitting against the wall in a tournament where my two older brothers played when I was about seven or eight.”
First Job: “First job? I don’t have a job [smiles].”
Favorite Meal: “Swedish meatballs and small red potatoes, boiled.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Wow, ice cream flavor, which is nougat flavor they have in Itali – nocciola.”
Pre-Match Feeling: “Not thinking about the match really. Five minutes before I’d start thinking about it. I had that for free that I was able to tell after five minutes of the warmup what kind of plan I was gonna have. So not really, I was pretty relaxed before.”
Last Book Read: “Actually, the last one I read was an autobiography of Bob Dylan, the one he wrote himself called Chronicles.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “I still hope it’s ahead of me [smiles].”
Most Painful Moment: “I’m sure that’s ahead of me [laughs].”
Favorite Tournaments: “French Open, Australian Open, U.S. Open.”
Funny Tennis Memory: “Yeah, Michael Pernfors and I played here on center court here in ’93. And we started at – I think it’s still the latest match on center court – it finished at 2:50 in the morning. And we were going to the fifth set and were really, really good friends. And he just won the Canadian Open and I just started playing again – I didn’t play for two years. So, but I knew big brother complex even though he’s older, so it gets to two sets all, he runs to the bathroom and he comes back and he’s gonna serve with new balls and he holds up the balls and he says to me, ‘New balls and…new legs.’ And I’m like F you [smiles]. And then we went to the press conference together, after I won 6-4 in the fifth, hysterical, lying next to each other on the table top. He should be pissed. But it’s too hard, too close of a friend.”
Embarrassing Tennis Memory: “Not really. I was gonna say sometimes you toss the racquet on the ground and it hits you in the nuts, that’s embarrassing.”
Favorite Players To Watch: “I like watching Federer, I like watching Nadal, Djokovic. And I always like people who grind it out on the clay courts. I love to watch Gasquet play on clay. (WTA?) I liked watching Mauresmo, she was so different from the other girls. She did something with every ball and there’s a thought into every shot. Sometimes it gets pretty thoughtless out there. It’s nice to see you can still win tennis matches, win grand slams without a weapon and just think your way through it. And hit the right shot at the right time. So I did like watching Mauresmo.”
Closest Tennis Friends: “Michael Pernfors and Joachim Nystrom.”
Funniest Player Encountered: “Diego Perez from Uruguay. I don’t know if you ever heard of him. Hysterical. Just really funny on the court, really funny off the court. Off the court it’s okay to be funny, he just talks all the time. I said, Listen, Diego – he didn’t have a job – you have to talk the same shit to another person. Keep doing the same thing. Just talk to the right people. Then they’ll give you a job. You can sell anything. But he’s a promoter.”
Toughest Competitors Encountered: “Connors, McEnroe, Becker, I’d say. Because I didn’t play Borg. Actually Edberg. You have to throw Edberg in there too.”
Best You Ever Felt On Court: “Finals in French Open 1985 against Ivan Lendl. Because I lost the first set 6-3 or something. I was like, Oh wow, here we go again. I had that feeling at the end of the set. Because he had beaten me the last three or four times. I had beaten him earlier but he came back to beat me. And I said, F*** it. I’m gonna start serving and I’m gonna come to the net on everything. Early in the second set. And that’s like unheard of on clay, for me anyway. So I start coming to the net. And I realized in 15 minutes, okay, that was that. Like, it’s over. Because there was no way I could lose the match from now on. Because he was just shocked. Like, what is going on here? So serve and volley and come in. So I won three sets after that. So that was unbelievable. Grand Slam final against Ivan Lendl. And I had the feeling I’m gonna lose the match. That’s not the way you feel usually against Lendl but that one I did. And the U.S. Open final happens to be against Lendl too. I think that was a much better match. And I work really hard for that. So those two are the ones. The one in ’85 because I played so shitty getting into the finals and so shitty in the first set. I was so disappointed in the whole tournament even though I was in the finals. And then suddenly ten minutes after, wow, I’m gonna win the French Open. Pretty cool. Then here playing against Ivan. I’ve had so many people come up to me and tell me that final against Lendl in ’85, that’s one of the better finals I’ve seen. I don’t have that often. Because I don’t play perfect tennis. I’ve never felt this good at certain matches, but that’s not really true because when I was playing really well I didn’t really feel well, everything was just going in, you know? Feeling good for me was when you’re not playing that well and you figure out that this is the way I have to play, I have to play around my bad side and still find a way to make him worse as well. That made me feel good, not hitting winners.”
Favorite Vacation: “I’ll take the Caribbean, on the beach.”
People Qualities Most Admired: “I like to see somebody that they have an opinion and the guts to say it. And that behaves the same, very level. You can get pissed, you can be sad, you can be crying, you can laugh, whatever, that’s fine. But you still say Good morning to the people that you know and say Thank you to everybody that opens the door for you, blah, blah, blah. So I’m very into manners, respect for every person, not just the better people. The guy in the street, the guy who works at the hotel door. And have an opinion, have the guts to say it and listen to whatever other people think. But don’t just get rolled over just because somebody else thinks it.”
You can read more Biofiles like this at Scoop’s Biofile site www.mrbiofile.com
(PHOTO CREDIT: Henk Abbink)
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Steve · May 27, 2011 at 11:03 pm
He should coach Simon.
Scoop Malinowski · May 28, 2011 at 11:25 am
Wilander coached Mathieu and Golovin but those partnerships didn’t work out. You have to think if Wilander, with all his knowledge, can get the right player, he can do wonders for them. Not sure though if he really wants to be a full time coach, he has a full plate with Wilander On Wheels, Eurosport and family obligations.
Steve · May 28, 2011 at 12:50 pm
…and Game, Set & Mats…lol great title
Simon reminds me of Mats. Simon is a great thinker on the court just like Mats was, IMHO.
Overkongen · December 13, 2011 at 8:55 pm
Mats should coach Wozniacki. He could get her to change her tactics when she is losing. Actually, I don’t think there is anyone else in the world who could help her like he could.
Scoop Malinowski · December 13, 2011 at 9:09 pm
Great point Overkongen, I will ask Mats about this idea next time I see him in Feb. Thanks for your comment and welcome to the site.