Birger Andersson

Birger Andersson
Full name Birger Andersson
Country (sports)  Sweden
Born (1951-03-26) 26 March 1951
Plays Right-handed
Singles
Career record 29–64
Career titles 0
Highest ranking No. 88 (26 June 1975)
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open 1R (1975, 1976, 1978)
Wimbledon 3R (1975)
US Open 1R (1975)
Doubles
Career record 14–56
Career titles 0
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open 1R (1975, 1978)
Wimbledon 1R (1975)
US Open 1R (1975)

Birger Andersson (born 26 March 1951) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden.

Biography

Andersson is best remembered for his performances for Sweden when they won the 1975 Davis Cup, the country's first title. Still a rookie, he had played professionally for only a few months before he got the Davis Cup call up.[1] Up until the final he occupied the No. 2 singles position, behind Björn Borg.[2] Although he didn't play in the final, he was responsible for Sweden making it that far, as he twice won the fifth and deciding match of a knockout tie.[3] For his feats during the tournament he was given the nickname "Bragd-Birger".[4]

In the Europe Zone quarter-final against West Germany, he defeated Karl Meiler in straight sets, to win the tie for Sweden.[5] Soon after he made the third round of the 1975 Wimbledon Championships, with wins over Tito Vázquez and Humphrey Hose.[6] He was again called upon for Sweden in the fifth rubber of the Europe Zone final against Spain in Barcelona and managed to beat José Higueras in four sets.[7] For the first time in Sweden's campaign they had home advantage when they met Chile in the Inter-Zonal semi-finals in Båstad. With Sweden leading 2–1, Andersson secured his side's place in the final by beating Patricio Cornejo in the fourth rubber.[8] Ove Bengtson was preferred over clay court specialist Andersson for the final against Czechoslovkia as the tie was played on indoor carpet.[9] In response to being asked if he felt let down losing his spot in the team for the final he responded that he believed Swedish captain Lennart Bergelin "picked the right guy".[10]

Andersson continued playing professional tournaments for the remainder of the decade and had his best Grand Prix performance in one of his last appearances, the semi-finals of the 1980 Swedish Open in Båstad.[11]

Since retiring he has worked as a gymnastics director and now coaches at the Linköping tennis academy.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Andersson Sparks Sweden". Reading Eagle. 22 September 1975. p. 21. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Swedish tennis team captain ponders No. 2 singles choice". The Spokesman-Review. 14 December 1975. p. D4. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Här behövs en dubbel Bragd-Birger". Hallandsposten (in Swedish). 8 July 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Bodaforskillen som blev "Bragd–Birger"". Tranås Tidning (in Swedish). 10 October 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Davis Cup - Tie - Details (Germany F.R. 2:3 Sweden)". Official Davis Cup website. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "Players Archive - Birger Andersson". Official Wimbledon website. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Swedish Cuppers best Spain". St. Petersburg Times. 28 July 1975. p. 3. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Sports Shorts". The Sumter Daily Item. 22 September 1975. p. 2B. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "Swedish hopes with Borg". The Spokesman-Review. 19 December 1975. p. 36. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  10. ↑ "Cup Star Not Miffed by Missing Lineup". Spokane Daily Chronicle. 18 December 1975. p. 49. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  11. ↑ "Tennis". The Arizona Republic. 19 July 1980. p. 60. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "Bragd-Birger på hembygdskväll". Smålands Dagblad (in Swedish). 29 September 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 4/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.