from Il Venerdì 
by Angelo Carotenuto
translated into English by Mauro Cappiello 

Between the '70s and '90s, a country of eight million inhabitants ruled the tennis world with Borg, Wilander and Edberg. But after them the downfall. Why? With a guide book, we went to have a look.

STOCKHOLM. Thomas ran to the net on the opponent's drop shot, opened his forehand, leaned the ball to the left of the Russian Safin, and then looked up to see where the lob was going to die. Besides the line. He had won. He didn't kneel, didn't throw his racquet, didn't kiss the Melbourne rebound ace. He simply clutched his fists and smiled, a normal gesture. "I didn't have the feeling  it was something historic."

In January 2002, Sweden was winning its final Slam and did not know it. In the land we've been associating with tennis since the '70s, there are no more champions. Gone in 14 years. Not only one who is capable of winning the Roland Garros is missing, but no title in any other tournament, never a final over the last five years, not one semifinal, or a player among the world top 100. There are only two in the top 400. Like a Brazil without football.

Thomas Johansson - that Thomas - today is 41 years old and is the Stockholm tournament director. His name is in the staff of the Peak Tennis Academy, in Östermalm, residential area of ​​the city, apartments for diplomats and bankers, 75 thousand crowns (eight thousand euros) per square meter. Here, they offer five day packages for 5,300 euros to amateurs who want to try the thrill of training in the same conditions as professionals.

by Mauro Cappiello

"När vi var bäst", the book on the Golden Age of Swedish tennis written two years ago by Mats Holm and Ulf Roosvald, is out in bookshops in Italy today!

As we had anticipated in early January, Italy becomes the first nation to translate the work, that collects stories and behind the scenes from the 30 years in which Sweden ruled the world of tennis.

The Italian version, named "Game Set Match - Borg, Edberg, Wilander e la Svezia del grande tennis" (translation by Alessandra Scali), has been presented two days ago by the Italian independent publishing house Add Editore and sports journalist Piero Valesio (Tuttosport) during an event in Turin.

from Kristianstadbladet.se
by Patrick Nilsson
translated into English by Mauro Cappiello

Peter "Foppa" Forsberg recently won this year's Mästarnas Mästare. Stefan Edberg has a standing invitation to the TV show - but has so far declined. - Sometimes I look at the program, but it is not a natural environment for me and then I will decline, says the tennis legend who visited Kristianstad Arena during a breakfast meeting.

Stefan Edberg was invited by Marknadsföreningen NordostSkåne and Sparbanken Skåne as the meeting host and the interest was huge to say the least. The restaurant in Kristianstad Arena was packed when Håcan Nilsson began talking with Stefan Edberg.

So, during a very entertaining hour Stefan Edberg told anecdotes from his active career, but we also got a glimpse of what life the former world number one is living today.

Yesterday Stefan Edberg appeared at the Infosys Confluence 2016, a summit of ideas on how the use of technology can improve any kind of industry that gathered world leaders and innovators at the Hilton Hotel in San Francisco from April 27th to 29th.

The meeting was organized by Infosys, an Indian multinational corporation that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services.

Thanks to his experience of innovation at the Södra Climate Arena in Växjö, the first tennis hall completely built using passive house technology and one of the few where a Play Sight system for the analysis of coaching stats was installed, Stefan Edberg was there to talk about the growing importance of big data in the world of tennis.

In an interview by Riccardo Crivelli published last April 21st on Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport, Roger Federer spoke about the differences between his current coach Ivan Ljubicic and Stefan Edberg.

"It's a completely different approach. - said the Swiss - I had a more global relationship with Stefan, as he took care of all the aspects of my preparation. With Ivan there's been a generational change, as he played with many of my current opponents and has got a different mind perspective and a wider knowledge. It's like he is still a tennis player, so to say, and that's what I needed in this moment."

Frenchman Michael Llodra retired from tennis in November 2014. Even though he never managed to become an élite player during his professional career, he was admired worldwide for his attacking tennis and for his elegant volleys that sometimes reminded of those played by Stefan Edberg.

In an article written yesterday for the French edition of the Huffington Post, Llodra talked about his tennis idols and explained how his dream came true in his last year on the Tour when he had the opportunity to hit with Stefan Edberg, during the Swede’s first season as Roger Federer’s coach.

from Göteborgs Posten
by Eric Hilmersson
translated into English by Mauro Cappiello

He is our last world number one, but today he wants to "act without being seen" ... Nevertheless, two years ago he accepted the most prestigious job in the tennis world: to coach Roger Federer... "It was as if we had known each other all our lives," says Stefan Edberg of his first meeting with the greatest in tennis history.

During his career, Stefan Edberg was known as a gentleman, a humble and correct perfectionist who left the big gestures behind and let the serve&volley game speak to the world tennis venues. An image that initially earned him the epithet of dull, but gradually won more and more respect, especially in London, which became his hometown as a 18-year-old and where he met Boris Becker in the Wimbledon final for three years in a row (1988-1990). He won two of them and the Londoners adopted that same shy Swede. In Sweden he won the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1990 and inspired all the young players to to go to the net after their serve.

The 50-year-old who walks into the Ullevi Tennis Klubb in March 2016 is essentially the same Stefan Edberg who won 41 singles titles during the ‘80s and ‘90s: well groomed, polite and unwilling to be at the center - although he is undoubtedly the star of this evening.

by Mauro Cappiello
thanks Johanna Jonsson (contributor of Tennis.se and member of the RC Open communication staff)

Yesterday, the World Tennis Day was celebrated in Jönköping, a small town in the region of Småland, Sweden, with a mini-tennis challenger dedicated to Swedish junior players. This event was held in connection with the ATP tournament of Jönköping, that brought the Challenger Tour back to Sweden for the first time since 1996.

The star of the event was Stefan Edberg, who was invited by the tournament organization to inspire the juniors with a lecture about his tennis career and his recent coaching experience with Roger Federer.

An audience of 120 young Swedish players had the great opportunity to hear his words and ask him questions.

from Jnytt.se
by Peter Gustafsson
translated into English by Mauro Cappiello

On Tuesday, the Racquet Centre in Jönköping had a great introduction. Stefan Edberg, one of the best tennis players of all time, was in fact visiting the tournament.  - I have mostly good memories from here, he says to Jnytt.

On Tuesday the tennis day was celebrated in Jonkoping with the Mini Challenger. Clubs, juniors and coaches were invited and one of the highlights was a lecture by Stefan Edberg.

- I have been invited to come to Jönköping and keep a small talk. There are over 100 young people who are here and play a mini-tennis tournament. Then they got the chance to listen to me and my experiences through my tennis career. Furthermore, they have the opportunity to watch tennis matches here, so it's a very good initiative from the management of the tennis tournament, - he said.

from Jp.se
by Torbjörn Berlstedt
translated into English by Mauro Cappiello

JÖNKÖPING - As the RC Open is currently underway at the Racquet Centre, we talked to former world number one Stefan Edberg about the crazy shape of the Swedish tennis curve.  - We got lost in development, he analyzes.

- It is important that we go to the bottom of things and find a way forward again, - says the man from Småland during an interview on the spot in the buzz around the mini tennis tournament.

It is as if time has stood still when you meet Edberg. Or as if the clock had stopped. Honestly, the 50-year-old sports star is not more colorful now than he was off the tennis court at the time.

But no one can take away from him the world number one he has been, as well as the aura of one of the last classic serve and volley specialists.