Greatest Swede of the Open Era after Borg, Wilander, and Edberg?

[Watcher]

I think we can all agree that Bjorn Borg is by far the greatest player Sweden has produced. Following him, we have Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg. Choosing who is number two and three between them is a bit tricky. Some people like to favor the fact that Wilander had one more slam, as well as slams on three surfaces, and an advantage in their career head to head. Some like to go with Edberg for having more career titles, and (I think) more years ended as the number one ranked player.

Regardless of all of that, who comes in fourth, fifth, etc.? In your mind? Here are some players to consider.

Mikael Pernfors, who made the finals of Roland Garros in 1986 before losing to Ivan Lendl. I believe that Pernfors also has the distinction of being one of a few to have breached the top ten without having won a title.

Jonas Bjorkman, who was once ranked number four in the world, and has had some deep runs in the slams, including a surprise semi-finalists show at Wimbledon this year. Bjorkman will definitely be remembered for his doubles success, where he has a career Grand Slam.

The Magnuses- Norman, Larsson, and Gustafsson. I don't actually know a lot about these guys, but it should be noted that Magnus Norman was once ranked second in the world and made the finals of Roland Garros in 2000, losing to Gustavo Kuerten.

Thomas Enqvist, once ranked fourth in the world, made the finals of the Australian Open in 1999 where he lost to Yevgeny Kafelnikov. I believe he has the fourth most singles titles of a Swedish player, after Borg, Wilander, and Edberg.

Thomas Johansson. I don't particularly care for the guy, but he's the only other Swede (at least in men's tennis) to have won a singles grand slam tournament, in Australia in 2002.

If you think I've left anyone out, please let me know.

 

[VGP]

I'd go with Enquist and T. Johansson. Very talented, strong and consistent performers. Injuries just took their toll.

I like Bjorkman, but he just doesn't have a knockout punch.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

good question.

I'd go with Enquist and T. Johansson. Very talented, strong and consistent performers. Injuries just took their toll.

i'll take these 2 too.

between them ? ummm... johansson has a slightly better slam record (also played the SF at wimbledon in 2005, 4 QF overall against 3 for enqvist) but enqvist has more titles and probably more wins against top players... maybe enqvist, then !


... a poll ?!

 

[Grimjack]

I don't know whether your list is complete, and I'm certainly not going to bother to check. But among the candidates you list, the answer is clearly Johansson, and it's a no brainer.

His one Australian Open title is a greater accomplishment than everything that everyone else on that list did in their combined careers.

Slams, and to a lesser extent year-end #1's, are the only factors in determining the greatness of a player's career.

 

[Watcher]

I don't know whether your list is complete, and I'm certainly not going to bother to check. But among the candidates you list, the answer is clearly Johansson, and it's a no brainer.

His one Australian Open title is a greater accomplishment than everything that everyone else on that list did in their combined careers.

Slams, and to a lesser extent year-end #1's, are the only factors in determining the greatness of a player's career.

This is coming from the guy who constantly derails the Australian Open as having practically no importance. Last time I heard, you had decided that the only things that mattered were Wimbledon, the US Open, number of titles, and time at number one.


Now, let me ask you something. Since you've evidently changed your mind and decided that slams in general, and year end number ones, are the ONLY factors, let me put a hypothetical situation to you.
Two players. One amasses an unbelievable, I don't know, thirty something Master's Series titles. Let's say he wins a total of fifty titles in his career. Never quite manages to win a Slam though.
The other is relatively unknown, has no titles, when all of a sudden he comes out of nowhere and wins a slam event (you choose which one, doesn't really matter). Unexpectedly, he tragically dies in an unfortunate cooking accident shortly thereafter.

So. Who is the greater player in the all time sense? And as an addition, the two players never had the opportunity to play each other in a direct matchup.

 

[tandayu]

wrong post, sorry

 

[Sagittar]

Thomas Enqvist ofcourse , and if it wasn't for the injuries we could have enjoyed his talent a lot longer ..

 

[snapple]

Think Joachim Nystrom should be part of discussion. Don't know his career stats off hand but remember he was part of the Master's field for several years, and that he beat Becker at the Open and gave Mac all he could handle. He was a beautiful player to watch and at the time I thought he would turn out to be another Wilander (his best friend who he won a Wimby doubles title with).

 

[AndrewD]

As a singles player, Thomas Johansson, without any doubt. However, in terms of an all-round career Anders Jarryd would be my first pick (Doubles = 8 majors, 2 Masters titles, 1 World Championship, 5 RU at majors, 1 RU at the Masters and 1 at the World Championships: Singles = 2 Qfs Aus Open, Sf Wimbledon, Qf Wimbledon, Qf US Open).

Johansson has been a far better player than people give him credit for but one who has lost at least 3 years to serious injuries. After winning the 2002 Australian Open he damaged his knee and was out for the last part of that season plus pretty much all of 2003 then had an eye injury which ruined 2006. Due to those injuries we never got to see the best of him as, every time he hit form, he'd hurt himself and be out of action for an extended period.

Enqvist was a fine player but not mentally tough enough to win the biggest events.

 

[edmondsm]

I vote for Patrick McEnroe.

 

[BreakPoint]

Don't forget about Anders Jarryd.

Top 10 in '84-'86 and also got to the semis of Wimbledon in '85, losing to Becker the first year that Becker won at 17. Also played in the year-end Masters in '84 and '85.

 

[hlkimfung]

how about the Nadal of 80's, Ken Carlson

and

Nick Kuilti, Jan Apell, and Jonas Svensson

Larson took out Sampras in the GS Cup and Rios at the US Open when Rios is no.2 or 3

 

[peter]

Don't forget about Anders Jarryd.

Top 10 in '84-'86 and also got to the semis of Wimbledon in '85, losing to Becker the first year that Becker won at 17. Also played in the year-end Masters in '84 and '85.

Not to mention that he's still actively playing competitively tennis... (Not on the ATP tour though - but he was part of the team that won the Swedish top league for men a couple of weeks ago - he beat a 17 year old kid in the final playing 4:th singles for that team

http://seriespel.tennis.se/gameResult.php?dID=182&round=2&match=1

 

[laurie]

I know Tennis fans are obsessed with numbers. But, I really don't know why there should be a number 2 or 3? As far as I can see, their achievements are round about equal.

I would say that Edberg won Wimbledon twice which is considered the most prestigious tournament and played in all 4 grand slam finals.

However, Wilander won 3 slams in one year (1988), I believe he won the Australian Open on grass and hardcourt beating Edberg and Cash in 1987 and 1988.

So, its difficult to say who was better in my opinion.

 

[Jack the Hack]

In my opinion…

1. Bjorn Borg: Reached #1, won 11 Slams, arguable GOAT – enough said.

2. Mats Wilander: Reached #1 in singles and #3 in doubles, won 7 singles Slams, 1 Wimbledon doubles title, one of only three players in history to win a Slam singles title on all three major surfaces.

3. Stefan Edberg: Reached #1 in singles and doubles, won 6 singles and 3 doubles Slams.

4. Thomas Johansson: Career high #7 in singles, but won the Australian Open in singles, 9 career singles titles and 1 doubles title. (Only other Swede besides Borg, Wilander, and Edberg to win a Slam singles title in the Open era.)

5. Anders Jarryd: Career high #5 in singles and #1 in doubles; SF at Wimbledon, reached QF at all other Slams, 8 career singles titles and 59 career doubles titles (including 8 doubles Slams). Jarryd twice won 3 out of 4 doubles Slams in one year.

6. Jonas Bjorkman: Career high #4 in singles, #1 in doubles; semifinalist at Wimbledon and the US Open in singles, won 6 career singles titles and 50 career doubles titles (including 9 Slams).

7. Thomas Enqvist: Career high #4, Aussie singles finalist, 19 career singles and 1 career doubles title.

8. Magnus Norman: Career high #2 in singles, singles finalist at the French, 12 career singles titles.

9. Joakim Nystrom: Career high #7 in singles, #4 in doubles; QF at French and US Open, won 13 career singles titles and 8 career doubles titles (including 1 Slam).

10. Mikael Pernfors: Career high #10 in singles, #32 in doubles, French Open singles finalist, 3 career singles titles, 1 doubles title, won 4 national titles in college (2 junior college titles and 2 NCAA titles).

11. Magnus Larsson: Career #10 in singles, semifinalist at French Open, QF at US Open, 7 career singles and 6 career doubles titles.

12. Jonas Svensson: Career high #10 in singles, semifinalist at the French, QF at Australian, 5 career singles and 1 doubles title.

13. Henrick Sundstrom: Career high #5 in singles, QF at French, 5 career singles titles.

14. Kent Carlsson: Career high #6 in singles, 9 career singles titles.

16. Jan Gunnarson: Career high #25 in singles, semifinalist at Australian, 1 career singles title, 9 doubles titles)

17. Hans Simonsson: Career high #10 in doubles, ’83 French Open Doubles Champ w/ Jarryd, 12 career doubles titles.

18. Niklas Kulti: Career high #32 in singles and #11 in doubles, 3 career singles titles and 13 doubles titles (and made several doubles finals at Slams).

19. Jan Apel: Career high #10 in doubles, 9 career doubles titles, made doubles final at the French.

20. Robin Soderling: Career high #25 in singles, 2 career singles titles.

 

[Jack the Hack]

And yes... I somehow deleted #15 on my list, which was Magnus Gustafsson:

Gustafsson had a career high ranking of #10 in singles, and he won 14 career singles titles and one doubles title. He was also a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open in singles and helped Sweden win the Davis Cup again in '98.

 

[vkartikv]

Edberg is not only the greatest swede but also the GOAT in my opinion. Which other s&v player has come as close as he has to winning the french?????? JJ, when he is done will be on that list.

 

[hoosierbr]

Edberg is not only the greatest swede but also the GOAT in my opinion. Which other s&v player has come as close as he has to winning the french??????

John McEnroe was up two sets to love and a break against Ivan Lendl at the 1984 French Open.

That being said Edberg is my tennis idol.

 

[Gemini]

In that list of Swedes, where does Peter Lundgren fall? I know he was top 30 in the world at some point. Don't know much about the rest of his stats.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

And yes... I somehow deleted #15 on my list, which was Magnus Gustafsson:

Gustafsson had a career high ranking of #10 in singles, and he won 14 career singles titles and one doubles title. He was also a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open in singles and helped Sweden win the Davis Cup again in '98.

good list, but if you put soderling, i think you have to put joachim johansson too...

Edberg is not only the greatest swede but also the GOAT in my opinion. Which other s&v player has come as close as he has to winning the french?????? JJ, when he is done will be on that list.

John McEnroe was up two sets to love and a break against Ivan Lendl at the 1984 French Open.

and noah won it the previous year, beating lendl and wilander on the way...
that being said, edberg was my favorite player too. and having reached all 4 slam finals is a great thing !

 

[oscar_2424]

I vote for the great Peter

 

[Watcher]

I knew I had forgotten a couple... Anders Jarryd, Sundstrom, and I thought about tossing Joachim Johansson a mention.

Obviously Robin Soderling is the first person to come to mind when you think about active Swedes (for me, anyway), but I didn't feel like he's been noticeable enough to be on the list.

 

[BreakPoint]

And yes... I somehow deleted #15 on my list, which was Magnus Gustafsson:

Gustafsson had a career high ranking of #10 in singles, and he won 14 career singles titles and one doubles title. He was also a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open in singles and helped Sweden win the Davis Cup again in '98.

Excellent list, Jack! And I agree with most of your rankings.

However, I think you may have inadvertently left out Joachim Johansson. High rank #9 in singles, 3 singles titles, and 1 doubles title. And I think he would have had a lot more titles if he hadn't been out with injury for almost two years!

 

[Jack the Hack]

For those that have mentioned them, Joachim Johansson and Peter Lundgren probably do deserve a place on my list...

Johansson: Career high #9 ranking in singles, semifinalist at the US Open, 3 career singles titles and 1 doubles title. (This would put him somewhere in the #10 to #15 range on my list.)

Lundgren: Career high #25 in singles and #36 in doubles, won 3 career singles and 3 career doubles titles, but only made it past the 2nd round of a Slam once - 4th round of Wimbledon in '89. (I would probably put Lungren near the bottom of my list, which means that if I add Joachim Johansson into the top 15, both Lundgren and Soderling are pushed outside of the top 20 Swedes of the Open era in my opinion).

 

[vkartikv]

Wasn't 'Magnus Gustaffson' the winner of the world's strongest man competition??

 

[Jack the Hack]

Wasn't 'Magnus Gustaffson' the winner of the world's strongest man competition??

I think you are thinking of either Magnus Ver Magnusson from Iceland (who dominated the WSM title in the mid-90s) or Magnus Sammuelsson from Sweden (who won in '98 ).

 

[hlkimfung]

How about Henrik Holm, who's pretty hot in 1992, beating Courier when Jim is no.1?

Didn't hear from him since.

And the once talented Andrea Vincingerra (sp), who once took Sampras on the brink in Lipton or Newsweek

 

[Jack the Hack]

How about Henrik Holm, who's pretty hot in 1992, beating Courier when Jim is no.1?

Didn't hear from him since.

And the once talented Andrea Vincingerra (sp), who once took Sampras on the brink in Lipton or Newsweek

Wow, I thought I had heard of or seen most of the Swedes... but I had never heard of Henrick Holm. However, it looks like his career best play was during the same timeframe that I was in college, so if he didn't have really significant tournament results, it would have been easy for me to miss him.

Henrick Holm did reach a career high of #17 in singles and #10 in doubles, and he won 5 doubles tournaments, but no singles tournaments. He has an overall losing record in singles (96-110), but he did have wins over Rafter, Pioline, Stich, Chang, Edberg, Lendl, Martin, Becker, and Courier. Most of his success in singles seems to have been on the challenger circuit, but he did make some deep runs in some of the smaller ATP events. His best showing in a Slam in singles was the 4th round of Wimbledon in '92. Although Holm reached higher career rankings, I'm not sure that I would put him ahead of Lundgren, who is outside of the top 20.

I have seen Vinciguerra play and remember that he was one of the players that some thought could be the next great Swede when he was a junior. He has a career high ranking of #33, has won 1 singles title, and made the 4th round of the Australian Open in '01, but seems to have really trailed off since then due to some injuries in '02 and '03. Again, he's not better than Lundgren, Holm, or Soderling, so he would be outside the top 20 Swedes of the Open era at this point.

 

[urban]

In addition to the good list posted by Jack the Hack, i remember Niklas Kulti, who was the top junior for a while and was seen as the next Borg. Also the Swedes had very good players before Borg, like Lennart Bergelin himself (one of the fisrt with a dh backhand), a further Johansson, who reached the RG final in 56, the blond Jan-Erik Lundquist, a very good clay courter of the 60s, and Ove Bengtsson, who won the DC with Borg.