1. Mats Wilander was ranked as the world No 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals for 20 weeks, including as the year-end No 1 in 1988.
49 Facts About Mats Wilander
1. 2.
Mats Wilander's breakthrough came suddenly and unexpectedly when he won the 1982 French Open at the age of 17.
3.
Mats Wilander won his fourth major singles title at the age of 20, the youngest man in history to have achieved the feat.
4.
Mats Wilander won eight Grand Prix Super Series titles, the precursors to the current ATP Masters 1000 tournaments.
5.
Mats Wilander was a driving force behind Sweden's run of seven consecutive Davis Cup finals and three titles in the 1980s.
6.
Mats Wilander is one of seven men to have won major singles titles on grass courts, hard courts, and clay courts since the feat became achievable in 1978.
7.
Mats Wilander made his debut on the professional tour at the clay court tournament in Bastad, Sweden in 1980.
Related searches
Michael Chang Boris Becker Gustavo Kuerten Brian Teacher John McEnroe Yannick Noah Roscoe Tanner Stefan Edberg Kevin Curren Pat Cash Henri Leconte Ramesh Krishnan Pete Sampras Brad Gilbert Andre Agassi Yevgeny Kafelnikov Marc Rosset Fernando Meligeni Roger Federer Kim Clijsters Jean Borotra 8.
Mats Wilander was the youngest ever male Grand Slam singles champion at 17 years, 9 months, a record since broken by Boris Becker and Michael Chang.
9.
In only his third entry in a Grand Slam tournament, Mats Wilander became the player who needed the fewest attempts to win one, a record since equaled by Gustavo Kuerten at the 1997 French Open.
10.
Mats Wilander then lost in the fourth round at both Wimbledon, to Brian Teacher, and the US Open to Lendl.
11.
Mats Wilander returned to the French Open in 1983, where he lost to Yannick Noah in the final, after defeating John McEnroe in a quarterfinal.
12.
Mats Wilander lost in the third round at Wimbledon to Roscoe Tanner and in the quarterfinals of the US Open to Lendl.
13.
Mats Wilander won his second Grand Slam title later that year at the Australian Open, played on grass at Kooyong Stadium, where he defeated McEnroe in a semifinal and Lendl in the final.
14.
Mats Wilander retained his Australian Open title in 1984, beating Stefan Edberg in the quarterfinals and Kevin Curren in the final.
15.
Mats Wilander lost in the semifinals of the French Open to Lendl, the second round at Wimbledon to Pat Cash, and the quarterfinals of the US Open to Cash.
16.
In 1985, Mats Wilander won the French Open for the second time, beating Lendl in the final, and again reached the Australian Open final, where he lost to Edberg.
17.
Mats Wilander then lost in the third round of the French Open to Andrei Chesnokov, the fourth round of Wimbledon to Cash, and the fourth round of the US Open to Miloslav Mecir.
18.
Mats Wilander partnered with countryman Joakim Nystrom to win the men's doubles title at Wimbledon in 1986.
19.
Mats Wilander won his fourth Grand Prix Championship Series title.
20.
The 1987 season saw Mats Wilander unveil a more potent service and a new highly effective one-handed slice backhand, the latter a somewhat remarkable development for a mid-career top-level tennis professional.
21.
Mats Wilander won five tournaments in 1987 including two Grand Prix Tennis Championship Series titles and six overall, finishing the year ranked third in the world for the third consecutive year.
22.
Mats Wilander faced another home crowd favourite, Henri Leconte, in the final of the French Open.
23.
Mats Wilander won in straight sets, missing only two out of 73 first serves in the entire match.
24.
At Wimbledon, Mats Wilander reached the quarterfinals where he lost to Mecir.
25.
Mats Wilander held the top ranking for a total of 20 weeks until Lendl reclaimed it at the end of January 1989.
Related searches
Michael Chang Boris Becker Gustavo Kuerten Brian Teacher John McEnroe Yannick Noah Roscoe Tanner Stefan Edberg Kevin Curren Pat Cash Henri Leconte Ramesh Krishnan Pete Sampras Brad Gilbert Andre Agassi Yevgeny Kafelnikov Marc Rosset Fernando Meligeni Roger Federer Kim Clijsters Jean Borotra 26.
Mats Wilander lost in the second round of the Australian Open to Ramesh Krishnan, the quarterfinals of the French Open to Andrei Chesnokov, the quarterfinals of Wimbledon to John McEnroe, and the second round of the US Open to Pete Sampras.
27.
Mats Wilander did not win a tournament during 1989 and he finished the year ranked World No 12.
28.
Mats Wilander briefly moved back into the top 10 rankings on 12 February 1990, but by the end of the year, his ranking had slumped to World No 41.
29.
Mats Wilander defeated Boris Becker in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, only to lose to Stefan Edberg in straight sets in the semifinals.
30.
Mats Wilander skipped the French Open and Wimbledon and lost in the first round of the US Open to Brad Gilbert.
31.
Mats Wilander won the final singles title of his career at Itaparica.
32.
Mats Wilander lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open and the second round of the French Open.
33.
Mats Wilander played seven tournaments in 1993, losing in the first round of five of them.
34.
Except for Wimbledon, Mats Wilander played a full schedule in 1994.
35.
Mats Wilander lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open to MaliVai Washington, the first round of the French Open to Andre Agassi in straight sets, and the first round of the US Open to Guy Forget.
36.
Mats Wilander's results improved slightly in 1995 as he finished the year ranked World No 46.
37.
Mats Wilander then lost in the third round of Wimbledon to Eltingh and the second round of the US Open to Martin.
38.
At Canadian Open in Montreal, Mats Wilander won his final tour match against Edberg, then beat eighth ranked Ferreira and sixth ranked Yevgeny Kafelnikov before losing to Agassi in the semis.
39.
At New Haven, Mats Wilander beat 10th ranked Marc Rosset before losing to Agassi in the semis.
40.
In 1996, Mats Wilander reached the final of the Pinehurst ATP tournament in May, losing to Fernando Meligeni.
41.
Mats Wilander played only one Grand Slam tournament, losing in the second round of the French Open to Martin.
42.
Mats Wilander was an integral member of Sweden's highly successful Davis Cup team throughout the 1980s.
43.
Mats Wilander helped Sweden reach the final again in 1986 but declined to play in the final because he was getting married.
44.
Mats Wilander last played in Davis Cup in the 1995 semifinals, where he lost to Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras.
45.
Mats Wilander competes from time to time on the senior tour.
Related searches
Michael Chang Boris Becker Gustavo Kuerten Brian Teacher John McEnroe Yannick Noah Roscoe Tanner Stefan Edberg Kevin Curren Pat Cash Henri Leconte Ramesh Krishnan Pete Sampras Brad Gilbert Andre Agassi Yevgeny Kafelnikov Marc Rosset Fernando Meligeni Roger Federer Kim Clijsters Jean Borotra 46.
Mats Wilander serves as a commentator for tennis matches on Eurosport.
47.
Mats Wilander created a minor controversy during the 2006 French Open when he criticized several top players, including Roger Federer and Kim Clijsters, as lacking the competitive edge to beat their toughest rivals.
48.
Mats Wilander might have them, but against Nadal they shrank to a very small size and it's not once, it's every time.
49.
In 2012, Mats Wilander won the International Club's Jean Borotra Sportsmanship Award.