Becker–Edberg rivalry

The tennis players Boris Becker (Germany) and Stefan Edberg (Sweden) met 35 times between 1984 and 1996. Although Becker led their overall head-to-head series 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 world Tour Finals in 1989 which Edberg won in Four sets.

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. 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.

Following his 2009 Wimbledon final, 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. Since 2013, Becker has been coaching Novak Djokovic, while Edberg has been coaching Roger Federer, continuing their rivalry through the Djokovic–Federer rivalry.

Head to head

Becker—Edberg (25–10)

Year	Tournament	Surface	Round	Winner	Score
1984	Cologne	Hard	R32	Stefan Edberg	6–4, 6–4
1985	Philadelphia	Carpet	R32	Stefan Edberg	6–3, 6–1
1985	Las Vegas	Hard	R16	Boris Becker	6–3, 6–7(3), 6–2
1985	Germany vs Sweden	Carpet	F	Boris Becker	6–3, 3–6, 7–5, 8–6
1986	Dallas	Carpet	SF	Boris Becker	7–6(4), 7–6(7), 4–6, 7–6(2)
1986	Montreal/Toronto	Hard	F	Boris Becker	6–4, 3–6, 6–3
1986	Tokyo	Carpet	F	Boris Becker	7–6(5), 6–1
1986	New York City	Carpet	SF	Boris Becker	6–4, 6–4
1987	Indian Wells	Hard	F	Boris Becker	6–4, 6–4, 7–5
1987	Montreal/Toronto	Hard	SF	Stefan Edberg	6–2, 6–4
1987	Cincinnati	Hard	F	Stefan Edberg	6–4, 6–1
1988	Dallas WCT	Carpet	F	Boris Becker	6–4, 1–6, 7–5, 6–2
1988	London (Queen's Club)	Grass	F	Boris Becker	6–1, 3–6, 6–3
1988	Wimbledon	Grass	F	Stefan Edberg	4–6, 7–6(2), 6–4, 6–2
1988	New York City	Carpet	RR	Stefan Edberg	7–6(5), 3–6, 6–4
1988	Germany vs Sweden	Clay	F	Boris Becker	6–3, 6–1, 6–4
1989	French Open	Clay	SF	Stefan Edberg	6–3, 6–4, 5–7, 3–6, 6–2
1989	Wimbledon	Grass	F	Boris Becker	6–0, 7–6(1), 6–4
1989	Paris	Carpet	F	Boris Becker	6–4, 6–3, 6–3
1989	New York City	Carpet	RR	Boris Becker	6–1, 6–4
1989	New York City	Carpet	F	Stefan Edberg	4–6, 7–6(6), 6–3, 6–1
1989	Germany vs Sweden	Carpet	F	Boris Becker	6–2, 6–2, 6–4
1990	London (Queen's Club)	Grass	SF	Boris Becker	6–4, 6–4
1990	Wimbledon	Grass	F	Stefan Edberg	6–2, 6–2, 3–6, 3–6, 6–4
1990	Sydney	Hard (i)	F	Boris Becker	7–6(4), 6–4, 6–4
1990	Stockholm	Carpet	F	Boris Becker	6–4, 6–0, 6–3
1990	Paris	Carpet	F	Stefan Edberg	3–3, retired
1991	Stockholm	Carpet	F	Boris Becker	3–6, 6–4, 1–6, 6–2, 6–2
1992	Brussels	Carpet	SF	Boris Becker	4–6, 6–4, 6–2
1992	Frankfurt	Carpet	RR	Boris Becker	6–4, 6–0
1993	Doha	Hard	SF	Boris Becker	6–4, 6–4
1994	Frankfurt	Carpet	RR	Boris Becker	6–7(3), 6–4, 7–5
1995	Basel	Hard	QF	Boris Becker	6–4, 3–6, 6–3
1996	Doha	Hard	R32	Boris Becker	6–2, 7–5
1996	London (Queen's Club)	Grass	F	Boris Becker	6–4, 7–6(3)

Legend

Grand Slam

Tennis Masters Cup

ATP Masters Series

Davis Cup

ATP International Series

ATP Rankings

Year-end ranking timeline

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

See also

• List of tennis rivalries

External links

• [1]