STEPHAN EDBERG – Tennis champion

(Vastervick, Sweeden, 1966 – )

As many other children, little Stephan drew close to the sport of tennis as a fun activity at age seven. Ten years later he decided to dedicate himself totally to this sport and in 1983 he participated in the Grand Slam Juniors in France, Great Britain, the United States and Australia and won. Only two years later, he won his first important title at the Australian Open. His career lasted 14 years and was highlighted by great success. All of the most important prize competitions of the world of tennis were conquered by Edberg. Together with his co national Mats Wilander he reached four times the final selections of the Davis Cup. Between 1990 and 1992 Edberg was number one in the world charts for 72 consecutive weeks and was included in the best players worldwide. His greatest rival for all of the duration of his career was Boris Becker., but he received his worst defeat in 1989 with Michael Chang in the finals of the Roland Garros tournament. In 1997 he retired from the world of tennis to devote himself completely to his family. In 1992 Stephen Edberg made an appearance with his charge of humanity and congeniality on the Barilla campaign in the Scandinavian nations, a campaign entitled “Stephan and the blue box” in which he appears photographed in a number of poses with the unmistakable Barilla pasta package. During the photographic shooting a video directed by Michael Jannson was filmed as well.

Cecilia Farinelli