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

Biography

Andersson is best remembered for his performances for

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

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. Up until the final he occupied the No. 2 singles position, behind

Björn Borg Björn Rune Borg (; born 6 June 1956) is a Swedish former world No. 1 tennis player. Between 1974 and 1981, he became the first man in the Open Era to win 11 Grand Slam singles titles with six at the French Open and five consecutively at Wimb ...

. 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. For his feats during the tournament he was given the nickname "Bragd-Birger". In the Europe Zone quarter-final against West Germany, he defeated

Karl Meiler Karl Meiler (30 April 1949 – 17 April 2014) was a tennis player from West Germany who was active in the 1970s and 1980s. Meiler won four singles (1972, Buenos Aires; 1974, Omaha and Calgary; 1977, Manila) and 17 doubles titles during his ...

in straight sets, to win the tie for Sweden. Soon after he made the third round of the

1975 Wimbledon Championships The 1975 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was held from Monday 23 June until Saturday ...

, with wins over Tito Vázquez and Humphrey Hose. 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. 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 Patricio Cornejo Seckel (; born 6 June 1944) is a retired Chilean professional tennis player of the 1970s. He competed at the 1975 Davis Cup with Jaime Fillol and played the longest Davis Cup rubber in terms of games, eventually losing to Stan ...

in the fourth rubber.

Ove Bengtson Ove Nils Bengtson (born 5 April 1945) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. He enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career, he won five doubles titles. Bengtson was a member of the Swedish Davis Cup t ...

was preferred over clay court specialist Andersson for the final against Czechoslovakia as the tie was played on indoor carpet. 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 Sven Lennart Bergelin (10 June 1925 – 4 November 2008) was a Swedish tennis player and coach. As a player, for AIK, Bergelin won nine Swedish championship singles titles between 1945 and 1955, and the French Open doubles title in 1948. Bergelin ...

"picked the right guy". Andersson continued playing professional tournaments for the remainder of the decade and had his best

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

performance in one of his last appearances, the semi-finals of the 1980 Swedish Open in Båstad. Since retiring he has worked as a gymnastics director and now coaches at the Linköping tennis academy.

Career Finals

Singles: 1 (1 win)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Andersson, Birger 1951 births Living people Swedish male tennis players People from Nässjö Municipality Sportspeople from Jönköping County

Biography

Career Finals

Singles: 1 (1 win)

See also

References

External links