Favorite Pics

"If men tire of the tennis, they can watch Gabriela Sabatini, and if women tire of the tennis, they watch Stefan Edberg." -- Tom Fitzgerald, San Francisco Chronicle columnist, quoting Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register, 1992. Fitzgerald was arguing that tennis is a sport superior to golf, one of the reason cited was that the players are more attractive.

As if his dazzling game wasn't enough, Stefan Edberg was blessed with uncommon good looks.
I remember a mock quiz that appeared in an issue of the (US) Tennis Magazine that came out after the 1991 US Open, where there were questions such as "Which one received more screams from teenybloppers: a) Agassi, b) Edberg", and another one: "Who's prettier? a) Verna White, b) Edberg" The tone of the article was a little derisive, but it did serve to document that Stefan's good looks did not go unnoticed.
I was told that after he won the Wimbledon for the first time, he was asked, at one interview, if he was bothered by the attention on his looks, to which Stefan supposedly mumbled something Edbergian such as "These things happen." In 1996, his farewell year, John McEnroe, commenting at the US Open, marvelled at Edberg's physique as Stefan peeled off his sweat-soaked shirt during a changeover. "My body certainly didn't look like that at age 30." And, referring to the whistles that could be heard: "Don't think that he (Stefan)'s not enjoying it."
Also, I clearly remember a rec.sport.tennis post that came across circa 1993, with a single line:"if only I had Stephan's body ..."
And George Vecsey of the New York Times made my day when he wrote this in a 2002 article: "...as a sportswriter, I have enjoyed covering such gallants as Miloslav Mecir, a big graceful cat of a player, the dreadlocked Yannick Noah, and Stefan Edberg, whom I dare say many men would choose to look like, play like and act like. " Can't say it any better.

As with everything else, Stefan downplays such things. One senses that such talks would embarrass him. And yet his charm is unquestionably a factor in his popularity. He has "Bambi eyes", a shy smile, and long legs the sight of which never fails to bring a pang to my heart. Jounalists often characterized his appearance as the archetypal blond-hair, blue-eyed nordic looks. But there are countless players that fit that category. Stefan has a trim figure and a poised carriage that distinguish him from other players, even at a distance. I have seen him at tournaments and can testify to that.

In the book "Tough Draw", Eliot Berry wrote that, among the reporters, Stefan had the reputation of the tour player that was the most difficult to photograph: His photos never look the same as in the match, and he never looks the same in photos (paraphase mine.) I don't know about that. Stefan is very photogenic. His angular facial features, blond hair, and slender figure are part of the reasons. Adding to all those factors is an inner calm, a sense of balance, and, especially when he's on court, a radiance. In Cape Cod, at the exhibition that took place in the summer of 2002, the photos that we, semi-amateurs, took of Stefan came out extremely well, and true-to-life.

Following, then, are some of my personal favorite.

As time goes by ...

Photos of unknown dates

Photos from abroad

In the summer of 2003, I acquired a collection of Stefan photos and articles from a British source. Some of the photos, of excellent quality. from that collection can be viewed here.

Lost photos that I remember

Treasure Troves

Stefan's good looks is not lost to others. There are tons of his photos posted on the web. Some of those that I know are:
Postscript:
In the summer of 2003 this quote from Sally Jenkins, a London writer whose tennis articles have appeared in Sports Illustrated: Sally got it right: Edberg -- had he allowed it, could have been the heartthrob of the world (not the he wasn't for a significant subset :-) But I think Stefan "exude(d) the vivaciousness of a clerk" on purpose - had he turned on the charm and schmoozed with the press, he could have been the darling of the world, but then he wouldn't have been able to walk the streets of London unbothered.
I am glad that I am among those who know well enough to appreciate Edberg.

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