The seven biggest rivalries in men's tennis history, part 4: Boris Becker vs Stefan Edberg
This match-up shaped an entire generation: Boris Becker against Stefan Edberg was the duel that produced three major finals, especially on grass.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit:
Mar 24, 2020, 09:21 am
Opposites attract - but even if Becker and Edberg used an objectively largely similar game, they were otherwise completely different. On the one hand Becker, who kissed tennis in Germany with his Wimbledon victory in 1985 and always enjoyed the big performance - on the other hand the quiet Swede Edberg, who only let his tennis speak for itself.
Edberg is still considered to be probably the best serve-and-volley player of all time. The kick-up always gave the "Schweiger von Västervik" enough time to storm the net - and probably nobody in tennis history had a better first volley than him. The second? Was then mostly just a matter of form. Becker, on the other hand, had thrown tennis into new spheres with his serve, he was again one of the first to really jump, he was called "Bum-Bum-Boris" by many. At times Becker was the most famous tennis player in the world and especially in Wimbledon - Becker once called the Center Court his living room - the man to beat.
Becker vs Edberg: That was the Wimbledon final from 1988 to 1990
At the end of the 1980s and early 1990s, Becker and Edberg were considered the best lawn players of all time. The two stood in the Wimbledon final for three years in a row, from 1988 to 1990 - and although Becker was clearly in the lead against Edberg (25:10), Edberg struck two out of three times against Becker in the final of the world's most important tournament . Actually, there should have been the fourth edition between Becker and Edberg in 1991, but Edberg lost the semi-final against Michael Stich in a four-set tiebreak thriller, oddly enough without even giving up his serve.
Edberg won six Grand Slam tournaments (2 x Australian Open, 2 x Wimbledon, 2 x US Open), for 72 weeks he was number 1 in the world (plus 3 Grand Slam titles in doubles and 15 weeks at the top of the world rankings there). Becker also had 6 major victories (2 x Australian Open, 3 x Wimbledon, 1 x US Open), but "only" at the top for 12 weeks. In terms of tournament victories, the German is in front with 49 to 41. So who was more successful? Decide for yourself ...
Becker and Edberg were both extremely popular in Germany. Not liking Edberg was almost impossible - only the argument "Because he is so good" could be accepted. A look at the youth magazine Bravo shows how "in" tennis was at the time of the two: This regularly brought tennis players among the people - from Boris Becker to Horst Skoff to Charly Steeb - as posters, in stories or as stickers, alongside those of Michael Jackson, ALF or David Hasselhoff.
The facts
| Boris Becker | Stefan Edberg | |
| born | November 22, 1967 | January 19, 1966 |
| Tournament victories | 49 | 41 |
| H2H | 25th | 10th |
Encounters on the tour
| year | Tournament (rubber), round | winner | Result |
| 1996 | Queen's, final | Becker | 6: 4, 7: 6 (3) |
| 1996 | Doha (hard court), R32 | Becker | 6: 2, 7: 5 |
| 1995 | Basel (hard court, Halle), quarter-finals | Becker | 6: 4, 3: 6, 6: 3 |
| 1994 | ATP Tour Finals Frankfurt (carpet), RR | Becker | 6: 7 (3), 6: 4, 7: 5 |
| 1993 | Doha (hard court), semi-finals | Becker | 6: 4, 6: 4 |
| 1992 | ATP Tour Finals Frankfurt (carpet), RR | Becker | 6: 4, 6: 0 |
| 1992 | Brussels (carpet), semi-finals | Becker | 4: 6, 6: 4, 6: 2 |
| 1991 | Stockholm (carpet), final | Becker | 3: 6, 6: 4.1: 6, 6: 2, 6: 2 |
| 1990 | Paris-Bercy (carpet), final | Edberg | 3: 3 where |
| 1990 | Stockholm (carpet), final | Becker | 6: 4, 6: 0, 6: 3 |
| 1990 | Sydney (hard court), final | Becker | 7: 6, 6: 4, 6: 4 |
| 1990 | Wimbledon (lawn), final | Edberg | 6: 2, 6: 2, 3: 6, 3: 6, 6: 4 |
| 1990 | Queen's, semi-final | Becker | 6: 4, 6: 4 |
| 1989 | Davis Cup (carpet), final | Becker | 6: 2, 6: 2, 6: 4 |
| 1989 | Masters, New York (carpet), finals | Edberg | 4: 6, 7: 6, 6: 3, 6: 1 |
| 1989 | Masters, New York (carpet), RR | Becker | 6: 1, 6: 4 |
| 1989 | Paris-Bercy (carpet), final | Becker | 6: 4, 6: 3, 6: 3 |
| 1989 | Wimbledon (lawn), final | Becker | 6: 0, 7: 6, 6: 4 |
| 1989 | Roland Garros (sand), semi-finals | Edberg | 6: 3, 6: 4, 5: 7.3: 6, 6: 2 |
| 1988 | Davis Cup (sand, hall), final | Becker | 6: 3, 6: 1, 6: 4 |
| 1988 | Masters New York (carpet), RR | Edberg | 7: 6, 3: 6, 6: 4 |
| 1988 | Wimbledon (lawn), final | Edberg | 4: 6, 7: 6, 6: 4, 6: 2 |
| 1988 | Queen's, final | Becker | 6: 1, 3: 6, 6: 3 |
| 1988 | Dallas (carpet), final | Becker | 6: 4, 1: 6.7: 5, 6: 2 |
| 1987 | Cincinnati (hard court), final | Edberg | 6: 4, 6: 1 |
| 1987 | Montreal (hard court), semi-finals | Edberg | 6: 2, 6: 4 |
| 1987 | Indian Wells (hard court), final | Becker | 6: 4, 6: 4, 7: 5 |
| 1986 | Masters New York (carpet), semi-finals | Becker | 6: 4, 6: 4 |
| 1986 | Tokyo (carpet), finale | Becker | 7: 6, 6: 1 |
| 1986 | Toronto (hard court), final | Becker | 6: 4, 3: 6, 6: 3 |
| 1986 | Dallas (carpet), semi-finals | Becker | 7: 6, 7: 6.4: 6, 7: 6 |
| 1985 | Davis Cup (carpet), RR | Becker | 6: 3, 3: 6, 7: 5, 8: 6 |
| 1985 | Las Vegas (hard court), round of 16 | Becker | 6: 3, 6: 7, 6: 2 |
| 1985 | Philadelphia (carpet), R32 | Edberg | 6: 3, 6: 1 |
| 1984 | Cologne (carpet), R32 | Edberg | 6: 4, 6: 4 |