The tiny nation of Sweden, located in the cold northern part of Europe, with twenty hours of darkness each day during the winter months, unexpectedly made themselves know to the tennis world in August 1977 when Björn Borg managed to stop Jimmy Connors’ 160 weeks at the top of the ATP ranking. Ironically, Borg only lasted one week before Connors took back the position for 84 weeks, before again being beaten by Borg. In total Borg managed 109 weeks as number one with 46 consecutive weeks.
The next Super-Swede, Mats Wilander entered the scene in September 1988. He stayed at the top for 20 weeks before he was beaten by Ivan Lendl. The man to end Lendl’s time at the top, after 80 weeks in his final round as number one, and 270 in total, ironically was the third Super-Swede, Stefan Edberg. Wilander ‘only’ managed 20 weeks (this is still 16th best in the world) and Edberg was recorded for 72 weeks in total at the number one spot.
Personalities and Achievements
Björn Borg was often described as quiet and mysterious, rarely showing any emotions at all on the courts. He also managed to turn tennis into a global popular spectacle and became one of the 1970s greatest icons, even in his home country, easily recognizable with his long hair and headband.
He won the Wimbledon junior championship in 1972 and turned professional soon after. Two years later he won his first Grand Slam title at the French Open, a feat he would go on to repeat a further four times. His first win at Wimbledon was in 1976, not dropping a set against Ilie Năstase, and he would go on to become the consecutive Men’s Singles Champion at this British Grand Slam for a further four years.
However, despite being a four-time finalist at the US Open (in 1976, 78, 80 and 81) Borg would never secure a victory in this hard court Slam. Come 1981, the world waited with baited breath as he squared off again against John McEnroe at Wimbledon, but this time the match wasn’t in his favor and the loss signaled the start of the downturn of his career.
In January 1983, Borg completely stunned the tennis world when he announced his retirement, at just 26 years old.
The second Super-Swede, Mats Wilander, was often described as the seeker with a tremendous mental strength and focus stronger than anyone else on the ATP Tour at the time. In Geneva in September 1981, he played and lost his only competitive match against Björn Borg, who had come back to the tennis scene after a three month time-out.
However, Wilander caught the real attention of the tennis world at the 1982 French Open, where he as an unseeded player, beat second seed Ivan Lendl, fifth seed Vitas Gerulaitis, to go on to beat fourth seed José Luis Clerc in the semi-finals, and then won against third seed Guillermo Vilas in the final.
1988 has been cited as Wilander’s best year in his career; in January, he won the Australian Open semi-final against fellow Swede Stefan Edberg followed by the final against local favourite Pat Cash. Wilander himself, mentions the French Open final against Ivan Lendl in 1985 as the time he felt best on the court.
Stefan Edberg, was the third Super-Swede. Outside of the courts, he always appeared humble and kept a low profile. What he seemed to be lacking in emotions and forwardness outside of the sport, he more than made up for in his excellent attacking game on the court.
Edberg started playing professionally in 1983 and he won his first ATP tournament in Milan, Italy a year later, ironically against Wilander. Throughout their careers they played each other twenty times, with each winning ten times.
Everyone’s Sport
To capture and celebrate the Swedish tennis success, authors Mats Holm and Ulf Roosvald have written a new book about these amazing Swedish tennis players, following on from the critically acclaimed book in 2014, “När vi var bäst” (When we were the best). The new book is called “Björn Borg and the Super-Swedes: Stefan Edberg, Mats Wilander, and the Golden Era of Tennis” and will be available in English this autumn.
The synopsis promises to cover the first (and, so far only) all-Swedish Grand Slam final between Edberg and Wilander, the various Davis Cup games and the rivalry between Borg and John McEnroe, as well as off-court facts about the players mixed in with Swedish politics.
With the success of the three Super-Swedes, tennis became a sport for everyone in Sweden. Tennis courts were built as part of the large high-rise property developments the Swedish labour government initiated to ensure housing for everyone. At the time, Sweden had more tennis courts per inhabitant than any other country in the world.
Borg · Edberg · Super Swedes · Sweden · Wilander
catherine · August 7, 2018 at 7:18 am
And then what happened ?
Hartt · August 7, 2018 at 8:15 am
As a big Edberg fan I am looking forward to that book.
And how do those Swedes do it – Edberg and Borg still look great.
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2018 at 10:07 am
Catherine, well don’t forget Thomas Johansson won the Australian Open but Joachim Johansson, Andreas Vinciguerra, Daniel Berta were not able to maintain the Swedish supremacy. I think the politics of the nation have contributed to the downfall of the tennis too, I know some Swedes and they say it’s no longer Sweden, the forced multi-culturalism has been a failure for Swedes and the migrants cause a lot of trouble and commit crimes and rapes. I think all this has factored into the downfall of the tennis though the Ymer brothers are the big hopes right now.
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2018 at 10:11 am
Wilander looks great too, super fit. I always respected Edberg, loved how he played and battled that one year especially at US Open when he had to win several five setters for I think his second US Open. One or two years after that he did a Biofile with me when I was a total no name, just spontaneous, I approached him in the locker room and he did it on the spot, no fusses, no excuses, no arrogance. Unlike some of the other big stars back then. Edberg was the best of the lot but he always maintained that regular guy humility. True inspiring class act champion.
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2018 at 10:17 am
Wilander is another amazing super champion who is so humble and friendly and always a thoughtful fascinating interview. There is no beter interview in sports than Mats Wilander. Wish I had a chance to meet Borg.
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2018 at 11:59 am
Kozlov and Paul crash out early at Aptos Challenger. Kozlov loses 4 and 1 to Kaichi Uchida and Paul loses 3 and 0 to Marcos Giron. Two young Americans who are badly struggling right now. Mmoh beat Evan King 63 in the third, a rematch of their US Open match last year.
Duke Carnoustie · August 7, 2018 at 1:38 pm
Kyrgios gets dumped out of Toronto by Stan with Vekic cheering on her man. Nick was broken at 5-6 in the 2nd and 3rd sets, trying some well-timed trick and half-ass shots. He got treatment after the 2nd set and shockingly didn’t look like he wanted to be there.
Harry is cruising past Mack Mack and his draw is wide open.
Foe takes the first set over Cecc in a TB.
Chung with a WD so Basic in to face Djoker. The winner faces Polansky.
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2018 at 1:50 pm
I’d call this another bad loss for Kyrgios. 61 and cruising and somehow finds a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Kyrgios is a billion dollar talent with a ten cent head.
Duke Carnoustie · August 7, 2018 at 1:52 pm
Scoop exactly. He was the far better player yet somehow lost a match to a guy who couldn’t beat DY last week.
The sad part is neither of us is surprised.
catherine · August 7, 2018 at 2:27 pm
Osaka, Ostapenko out and Barty really struggled in 3 sets v Begu. Some of the players who looked promising a while ago seem stuck in a rut.
A Kerber/Halep final in Montreal wouldn’t surprise me.
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2018 at 2:29 pm
Duke, I’d go as far as saying Nick Kyrgios is the biggest waste of talent in tennis history.
catherine · August 7, 2018 at 2:41 pm
Ostapenko – 54 UEs and 10 dfs. How can you win with that ? And she’s ranked 11.
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2018 at 2:49 pm
catherine, maybe ostapenko got drunk last night or had a late night date, or maybe she tanked.
catherine · August 7, 2018 at 3:05 pm
Scoop – you make Jelena sound as professional as Nick K 🙂
Dan Markowitz · August 7, 2018 at 4:29 pm
Fognini is 9-1 after Wimbledon with two titles, last week over Delpo in the finals. Today he routined SteveJo 4 and 4. If SteveJo could just play Houston and Newport, he’d be Top 10. Fognini is hitting some sick shots. After one forehand he clocked for an outright winner, Annacone calling the match, said “ridiculous.”
This new AA looks good. Pouille isn’t playing particularly well, but this AA is 6-3, moves really well and has a flair for the dramatic. He took first set against Pouille. What happened to all the good Frenchman? They’re all gone now or either marginalized: Monfils, Tsonga, Gasquet, Simon and Pouille.
scoop malinowski · August 7, 2018 at 8:11 pm
Catherine, to make that many UEs and DFs is alarming and curious. Bad analogy…if only Nick had a quarter of Ostapenko’s drive and professionalism. Unfortunately Nick has the seriousness in too many matches of a circus clown.
scoop malinowski · August 7, 2018 at 8:14 pm
Fognini has shed his Dognini days, he is a serious threat right now, he is annihilating people. This guy could catch fire and pull off a Pennetta at US Open. Felix scores a monster win over Pouille, he really needed this because he was starting to slip away to irrelevance. The French armada has sprung a leak or two or three. They are a bunch of second and third bananas right now. Not sure if any will be able to step up and be the Man.
Hartt · August 7, 2018 at 9:59 pm
Scoop, how can an 18-year-old kid who is in the top 150 slip away to irrelevance?
I was at that match and Felix was terrific.
Hartt · August 7, 2018 at 10:00 pm
Actually, I aged Felix. He is 17 for a couple of hours more.
Hartt · August 7, 2018 at 10:12 pm
Scoop, I enjoyed reading your comments on Edberg. He is one of my tennis heroes, both for his tennis and for the qualities that you cite. But it’s great to have my impression of him confirmed by someone who has talked to him.
Stefan did a charming video for the Daniel Nestor roast, recalling when Daniel, as an unknown 19-year-old, beat Stefan, who was then world No. 1, in a Davis Cup tie. It is the stuff of legend in Canadian tennis lore.
Hartt · August 7, 2018 at 10:14 pm
Denis just had an easy win over Chardy. With wins by Milos, Felix and Peter Polansky, this has been a good couple of days for Canadian tennis. And, on the women’s side, Francoise Abanda just defeated Flipkens.
Dan Markowitz · August 7, 2018 at 10:55 pm
Did you see that non-existent handshake Mac Mac gave Harry? Wow, Harry just pisses opponents off. Anyone know why Mac Mac was so cold to Harry other then he lost.
Chazz · August 7, 2018 at 11:01 pm
I saw it Dan and was wondering the same thing. McDonald clearly hates him.
Duke Carnoustie · August 8, 2018 at 2:33 am
Lots of players hate Harrison. Mac Mac needs to get to the back of the line on that. Any video of this encounter?
Didn’t realize that Tiafoe is dating a gal from Toronto who played college tennis at Clemson and UCLA. She will be the only Canadian cheering him on tomorrow against Raonic.
ATP site reported that Bradley Klahn got engaged last week. He takes on Zverev.
Wawrinka will try to avenge a humbling 4 and 0 defeat to Fucsovics on home soil this year while Tsitsipas and Thiem continue their rivalry.
Some big-time women’s matchups – Sloane v. Abanda, Shazza v. top-ranked Russian Kastatkina and Konta v. Azarenka.
catherine · August 8, 2018 at 2:37 am
Scoop – Ostapenko perhaps needs some changes in her team setup. I think her mother is still involved which may no longer be the best idea. It’s a shame because Penko has some talent but won’t go much further until she learns to control the ball – it just goes everywhere. Like it has a mind of its own after leaving her racquet.
Talking of players slipping into irrelevance – Muguruza has w/d again and is on that slide. Something seriously wrong with her fitness and/or attitude.
Sharapova v Kasatkina – could be fun.
catherine · August 8, 2018 at 2:46 am
The way Sloane’s playing recently Canada could have another reason for celebration 🙂
Kerber opens v Cornet. Let’s hope it’s not a replay of their last encounter which ended in a slight spat.
Unusual for Angie but run-of-the mill for Alize.
Hartt · August 8, 2018 at 7:43 am
I’d love to see Abanda win over Stephens, but am not holding my breath. But if Francoise could play all her matches in Quebec, she’d be a top 10 player. She has the skills, but rarely plays her best.
And with Sharapova vs Kasatkina, go Dasha!
Hartt · August 8, 2018 at 7:59 am
I am still recovering from yesterday’s Rogers Cup. There is a lot of walking and stair climbing, and although it wasn’t unreasonably hot, it was very humid. I felt like a wet noodle by the end of the day.
But what a great day! The highlight was seeing Felix win against Pouille, in a match that the youngster took control of. Felix served well and made a lot of terrific shots, including some great DTL winners. I hope he can prevail over Medvedev today – it would be a wonderful 18th birthday present.
And I got to see several of my favourites win. Khachanov against Krajinovic was on a small outer court. I was practically on top of the players. When you are that close you really understand just how hard Karen hits the ball. Krajinovic didn’t have much of a chance, especially since Karen was keeping the ball in the court.
I saw the first set of Tiafoe’s match against Cecchinato, that Frances managed to pull off, and then had to leave to catch the rest of Tsitsipas vs Dzumhur, which the youngster won in SS.
Got to see a bit of several practices, including Rafa, Sascha (with Diego), Frances and Shapo (with Frank Dancevic).
So it was well worth the effort involved. But will be watching it on TV for the rest of the week, having blown my tennis budget for the Davis Cup tie in Sept.
catherine · August 8, 2018 at 8:16 am
Hartt – I know you like Safarova – I saw her match v Julia G and it was one of the best so far, Lucie had a good chance of winning but Julia just has to pull out that serve.
I can’t pick Dasha/Sharpie. Could be an epic or a flop.
People are talking about Canada as the new powerhouse of tennis – who’d have predicted that ?
Scoop Malinowski · August 8, 2018 at 9:14 am
Hartt, no doubt it was a much needed big win for Felix, who has been quiet for the last year. You start to worry about these young phenoms taking too many losses and how it can destroy their confidence. Glad to see Felix score this big win which proves he can play top 15 tennis. Worried about Kozlov, Paul, Opelka who are irrelevant right now. They have taken too many losses.
Scoop Malinowski · August 8, 2018 at 9:16 am
Glad to deliver that inside info Hartt. Edberg is an ultimate champion. Nestor had some huge wins in singles, I think he beat Rios too in Davis Cup.
Scoop Malinowski · August 8, 2018 at 9:21 am
I guess you have to credit Bouchard and Raonic with leading the Canadian charge into tennis elite prominence. Bouchard, say what you want, she is also a pioneer.
Dan Markowitz · August 8, 2018 at 10:22 am
Strange Opelka hasn’t achieved more in 2018 after breaking out at Delray. I’d put Paul far ahead of Kozlov right now after Paul fared well in DC. But this dynamic duo of Shapo and Felix can only be somewhat matched by the troika of Tiafoe, Fritz and JD.
Scoop Malinowski · August 8, 2018 at 11:24 am
#NEXTGEN Davis Cup under 22, that would be good. Eight teams invited based on combined rankings of their under 22 players.
Hartt · August 8, 2018 at 11:39 am
Felix did not have a bad year. He won the Seville Challenger last fall and then defended his Lyon Challenger title this spring. He joined a pretty rare group in having 3 Challenger titles before he was 18. The start of his season was hampered by an injury he got in December. But he is healthy now.
Hartt · August 8, 2018 at 11:45 am
Yes, this is an exciting time for Canadian tennis. Canuck journalists are saying a golden era of Canadian tennis has begun, and they may be right.
And I agree that both Milos and Genie were important to bringing about this current success. Tennis Canada says that the number of Canadians playing tennis has increased dramatically, so that is good news. The more kids who play, the greater the chance that other good pros will appear. As well as the obvious benefits to those who take up the sport.
Scoop Malinowski · August 8, 2018 at 12:30 pm
And colorful charismatic players like Shap and Felix and Bouchard will inspire A LOT of young players to play.
catherine · August 8, 2018 at 12:42 pm
Kerber goes out to Cornet 6-4 6-1. Can happen when you win W’don. Or maybe it’s the awful adidas outfit Angie was wearing. Same as Cornet but Alize played better in it.
Alize played very well – mixed up the game, kept the pace going until the end.
I don’t suppose Angie did much preparation for this one. Or maybe she felt ill.
catherine · August 8, 2018 at 12:55 pm
Coolest handshake I’ve seen for a while.
Hartt · August 8, 2018 at 1:57 pm
Yes, Shapo has said that he wants to inspire more Canadian kids to take up tennis racquets. And he has the charisma to do it. Once Felix gets better known he will make a big difference as well.
Felix still isn’t as well-known as I would have expected. When i was walking to Centre Court to see his match a lot of people were walking in the opposite direction, coming from Novak’s match. I guess I thought everyone would want to see Felix, but to be realistic, a lot of fans are only interested in the big names.
catherine · August 8, 2018 at 2:23 pm
Not much of an effort from Daria v Sharapova. Is Dasha just an illusion or is she the real thing ?
I see a major frost between Cornet & Kerber. Angie challenged the last point which was clearly out and wouldn’t catch Alize’s eye at the net.
catherine · August 9, 2018 at 3:16 am
One thing I’ve learned – if Serena Williams isn’t playing the WTA may as well not be happening. Only Maria garners any comments worth counting.
Some players seem extremely blasé about their less than inspiring performances in Montreal. Naming no names. And is the WTA concerned ? You bet it isn’t.
Ho hum – on to Cincinnati, or wherever.
(There’s an argument, which I can’t bothered to go into, and no one will read it anyway, for splitting tournaments for most of the year – if men are playing, they get the attention. And if the WTA is left exposed, may wake some people up a bit)