I first started to watch Stefan Edberg playing tennis back in the mid to late ‘80s. My mum was a massive fan of the Swede and during the two-week Wimbledon tournament the TV would be firmly fixed on the BBC to watch all the games, though she struggled to watch her favourite man when the matches got tight as the play was so intense.

I would come home from school and straight away I'd check all the scores on Teletext (the days of the Internet had yet to be discovered!) while all my mum was worried about was Edberg, Edberg, Edberg. Why? Well, not only did he have good looks and was a true gentleman on court, he was also a grass-court superstar. Long before the power game of big serving came into play, Edberg was an all-round player who loved to serve and volley on the fast grass courts - and was very successful with it.

His matches nearly always produced brilliant tennis on the surface and fans all over the world cheered on his epic Wimbledon encounters.

'Over the past two decades, I have never been able to match this rivalry with any of the Wimbledon greats of recent times'


Edberg was one of the most successful players of the last 20 years, but will be remembered by most for his three consecutive Wimbledon finals between 1988 and 1990, playing against arch-rival Boris Becker on each occasion. In 1988, the final actually took place over three days due to rain delays. Edberg kept his concentration well to win his first Wimbledon title of his career in four sets, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2.

My mum, of course, was delighted even if her fingernails had been demolished during the marathon three-day ordeal. So was I! I was witnessing grass-court tennis at its best and because both men where so evenly matched, they managed to put on a great show.

I was impressed as an eight-year-old, and watching it again 20 years later on YouTube, the match is still a classic.

In 1989, Becker got his own back on his Swedish rival. He demolished his opponent 6-0 in the first set and then, after a tight tie-break in the second, won the match in straight sets to take the trophy back to Germany. My mum was distraught on that Sunday afternoon but it was only 12 months of disappointment as her man regained the Wimbledon title the following year at  the 1990 championships.

The match was a little overshadowed by the women that year as Martina Navratilova defeated Zina Garrison to lift the trophy for a record ninth time in her glittering career. As a Garrison fan, I was disappointed but as long as Edberg won the following day, 'you know who' would be happy enough! And the super Swede didn't disappoint with a gruelling five-set win against Boris.

Edberg looked to be cruising at two sets up but Becker found a way through and levelled it up before Edberg regained his composure to steal the fifth set and the title with his excellent serve and volleying skills.

Over the past two decades, I have never been able to match this rivalry with any of the Wimbledon greats of recent times. The Sampras and Federer eras are no doubt going to set the record books alight but I will always remember Wimbledon men’s final day for those three Edberg-Becker contests while I was growing up.

That type of play is the essence of what the whole Wimbledon tournament is about and I will always have fond childhood memories of my mum’s head behind a cushion watching anxiously as every shot was played. It was tennis at its best and Edberg for me is truly the best Wimbledon champion since I have been watching the sport.

Wouldn't it be great to see a veterans’ match between Becker and Edberg in this year’s tournament?