Stefan Edberg and Roger Federer at Wimbledon 2015 (© ubitennis.com)

Roger Federer beat Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3 in the first semifinal of the Australian Open and will compete for a fifth title in Melbourne.

The Swiss, coming back to the Tour in 2017 after a six month break from tennis, will make his first appearance in an Australian Open final since 2010 and will be seeking his 18th Grand Slam crown, a goal in which his former coach Stefan Edberg has never stopped believing.

Interviewed last October by Linus Sunnervik in Stockholm, Stefan had remained still on the motto he had been repeating several times in his two years as Roger’s mentor. Never count Federer out, he still has a chance.

Stefan Edberg's forehand volley at the 1993 Australian Open

from Reuters

It was John McEnroe who summed it up best. "You did it old school," he told Mischa Zverev after the German had beaten Andy Murray on Sunday.

Zverev's stunning upset of the top seed in the fourth round of the Australian Open was indeed a throwback to the days of the 1980s, when sticking to the baseline was something reserved only for clay courts.

"It was really impressive to watch," Pat Cash, who won Wimbledon in 1987, told reporters on Monday.

"To see a guy serve-volley on second serve and beat the world number one, who is allegedly one of the best returners and best passers of all time, and just get knotted up and not even able to hit a passing shot."

by Mauro Cappiello

More than 20 years after Stefan Edberg’s retirement from tennis, his official profile on the ATP World Tour website is finally correct.

Right on his birthday, I managed to make myself heard by the ATP on an incredible mistake that was still there in the “Bio” section of his page.

Believe it or not, until four days ago, Stefan was only acknowledged 8 and not 9 Grand Slam trophies between singles and doubles. His last title, clinched in 1996 with Petr Korda in the Australian Open doubles event, had been left out of his record, probably lost in the digital translation of his biography edited by Bud Collins.

by Mauro Cappiello

Do you remember when Roger Federer talked about the Edberg vs Becker rivalry as an inspiration for him growing up and approaching professional tennis?

In the early years of his career and up to the start of his partnership with Stefan Edberg, the Swiss stated in several interviews that he had shifted from the German to the Swede to finally like and support both. But that doesn't seem the case anymore.

A couple of interviews in the last two weeks suggest he has no more doubts about who his real tennis idol is.

The Australian Open has started yesterday and, as announced a few months ago, the tournament has got a new logo that, after 21 years, replaced the "serving man", according to many modelled on Stefan Edberg's service action.

From a quick poll conducted by Huffington Post Australia, though, a great majority of fans are not enthusiast about the new branding image of the event, that was heavily criticized on the social networks as soon as it appeared last early October.

Contacted by The Huffington Post Australia, Nick Davis, general manager of Landor, the agency that designed the new logo, said that a negative reaction was expected.

The European School of Economics shared on its official Facebook channel a clip of the event in which Stefan Edberg received a special Sportsmanship Award last September 10th in Florence.

The Swede had been invited by ESE president and founder Mr. Elio D'Anna to the gala dinner held at Palazzo Borghese to celebrate the graduated students for academic year 2016. Stefan's daughter Emilie has herself attended the school in 2013.

In his acceptance speech, Stefan recalled his first career title, won right in Italy at the Cuore Cup in Milan in 1984. Then he talked about his current activities in Sweden and about his coaching experience with Roger Federer.

Before the ATP World Tour Finals Championship match between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, Stefan Edberg was invited by BBC to preview the final showdown (that would also award the year-end number 1 spot for 2016) in the studio with Sue Barker and Tim Henman.

The Swede analysed both players' chances and the meaning of being at the top of the ranking at the end of the season, especially in such an important occasion: in fact, it was the first time in the history of men's tennis that the year-end ranking leader was decided in the last match of the season between the two contenders.

From next year, Milan will be the home of a new season-end ATP event dedicated to the young generation, called Next Gen Masters. The top seven ranked under 21 tennis players plus a wild card will compete at the Fiera Milano venue from November 7th to 11th for the title of best junior of the year.

The news was given yesterday in a media conference in London, during the ATP World Tour Finals, by ATP World Tour CEO Chris Kermode, joined by 18-year-old American Frances Tiafoe and Stefan Edberg.

A short promotional hd video made by Swedish filmmaker Kristoffer Davidsson for Adidas at the Södra Climate Arena and shared on Vimeo shows how Stefan Edberg's elegant motion on court has just stood the test of time.

Still at 50, Stefan playing is a joy to watch. It's a shame that, since he quit his job as coach of Roger Federer, he has never appeared in public tennis displays...

His appearance at the Necker Cup this week has been out of fans' reach, who couldn't see anything either live or on tv, and his name is not in the field for next year's edition of the Kings of Tennis.

from ATP World Tour.com

Stefan Edberg in action during his 1989 New York Masters final against Boris Becker

Stefan Edberg will make a welcome return to The O2 in London next week as part of the ATP’s Finals Club, which this year celebrates Barclays ATP World Tour Finals competitors in the 1980s.

Having qualified for nine straight year-end championships in New York City and Frankfurt, between 1985 and 1994, the Swede continues to marvel at the growth of the prestigious event.

“This has become one of the best events to visit as a spectator,” Edberg told ATPWorldTour.com. “You don’t have to deal with rain, you’re guaranteed two great matches each day and everything runs well.

“It was mostly about the Grand Slams in my generation, but I think this championship and the [ATP World Tour] Masters 1000 events have so much importance to them now, which is great. That’s how it should be.”