Per Christian Bergström (born 19 July 1967) is a former
tennis player
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
from
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, who turned professional in 1985. He did not win any titles (neither singles nor doubles) during his career, but reached three singles quarter-finals in Grand Slam tournaments:
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
(1990, 1994) and
Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
(1993). The right-hander reached his highest individual ranking on the
ATP Tour
The ATP Tour (known as ATP World Tour between January 2009 and December 2018) is the sole worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) founded in 1990 that replaced the earlier dual Grand Prix ...
on 27 January 1992, when he became World No. 32.
Career
1984–1985: Junior career
Bergström was the Swedish junior champion in 1984 and European junior champion in 1985.
He reached the semi-finals of the 1985 U.S. Open Juniors, losing to
Joey Blake. At the Junior French Open, he lost in the 3rd round to
Thomas Muster
Thomas Muster (born 2 October 1967) is an Austrian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Muster ...
. Bergström was ranked No. 2 in the
ITF Junior world rankings and turned professional at the end of 1985.
Junior Slam results – Singles
*French Open: 3R (1985)
*US Open: SF (1985)
Junior Slam results – Doubles
*French Open: QF (1985)
*US Open: 2R (1985)
1986–1987
Bergström started the year ranked 410 in the world on the
ATP rankings
The PIF ATP Rankings (previously known as the Pepperstone ATP Rankings) are the merit-based method used by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for determining the qualification for entry as well as the seeding of players in all single ...
and mostly competed on the
ATP Challenger Series
The ATP Challenger Tour (known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series) is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments. It was founded in 1976 as a replacement for the ILTF Satellite Circuit (founded in 1971) as ...
. He reached the quarter-finals at the
Parioli Challenger, the semi-finals at the
Bergen
Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo.
By May 20 ...
Challenger and his best result was winning the
Tampere Challenger. He also qualified for two Grand Slam events, the
French Open
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
and the
US Open, losing in the first round of both.
In 1987 Bergström reached the quarter-finals at the
Dortmund
Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...
Challenger and won the
Porto Challenger. On the
Grand Prix Tour he reached the quarter-finals at the
Lorraine Open
The Lorraine Open is a defunct men's tennis tournament that was played as part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit from 1979 to 1989. It was held in Lorraine, one of the 26 regions of France. The venue alternated annually from Lorraine's two main citi ...
in
Nancy and also in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. Bergström participated in three Grand Slam events, beating countrymen in the first round of each. At the
French Open
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
he beat
Johan Carlsson in the first round, at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
,
Peter Lundgren
Hans Peter Lundgren (; 29 January 1965 – 22 August 2024) was a Swedish professional tennis player and tennis coach. He preferred playing indoors, hardcourt and on grass to clay.
Playing career
Lundgren was one of the second generation of Sw ...
and at the
US Open,
Mikael Pernfors
Mikael Pernfors (; born 16 July 1963) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. He reached the men's singles final at the French Open in 1986, and won the 1993 Canadian Open in Montreal.
Career
Pernfors played a topspin-heavy basel ...
had to retire in the first round. Bergström lost in the second round at all three events and ended the year ranked number 69 in the world on the
ATP rankings
The PIF ATP Rankings (previously known as the Pepperstone ATP Rankings) are the merit-based method used by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for determining the qualification for entry as well as the seeding of players in all single ...
.
1988–1989
Bergström did not compete in any Challenger tournaments during the 1988 season. On the
Grand Prix Tour he reached two quarter-finals, at
Metz
Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...
and
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
and two semi-finals at
Båstad
Båstad () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden, with approximately 5,000 permanent residents. It is however one of Sweden's most typical summer resorts. The population is presumably mor ...
and
Toulouse
Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
. He had his first victory over a top ten player when he beat the world number 10,
Henri Leconte
Henri Leconte (; born 4 July 1963) is a French former professional tennis player. He reached the men's singles final at the French Open in 1988, won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984, and helped France win the Davis Cup in 1991. During ...
at the Toulouse tournament.
The 1989 season was less successful as Bergström reaches three quarter-finals, at
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
,
Båstad
Båstad () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden, with approximately 5,000 permanent residents. It is however one of Sweden's most typical summer resorts. The population is presumably mor ...
and
Toulouse
Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
. In November he reached the semi-finals at the
Copenhagen Challenger and finished the year ranked number 106 in the world.
1990–1991
During April 1990, Bergström reached the quarter-finals in
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
as a qualifier, losing to the eventual winner
Karel Nováček
Karel Nováček (born 30 March 1965) is a retired Czech people, Czech former top ten tennis player born in Prostějov, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic). In his career, Nováček won 13 singles titles and six doubles titles. His highest singles r ...
. He also qualified for the
French Open
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
, losing in 5 sets in the 3rd round to the 11th-seeded
Michael Chang
Michael Te-pei Chang (born February 22, 1972) is an American former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked world No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in 1996. Chang is the youngest man in history to win a singl ...
. At
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
he upset the tournament 11th seed and word number 21,
Guy Forget
Guy Forget (; born 4 January 1965) is a French tennis administrator and retired professional player. During his career, he helped France win the Davis Cup in both 1991 and 1996. Since retiring as a player, he has served as France's Davis Cup te ...
in the fourth round and lost in the quarter-finals to
Stefan Edberg
Jan Stefan Edberg (; born 19 January 1966) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in both men's singles and men's doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), one of two players in the ...
. During October he reached the quarter-finals in
Toulouse
Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
and in November the semi-finals at the
London-indoor. As a result of his Wimbledon success, Bergström qualified as one of sixteen players for the
Grand Slam Cup
The Grand Slam Cup was a tennis tournament held annually at the Olympiahalle in Munich, Germany from 1990 through 1999. The event was organized by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), which invited the best-performing players in the year's ...
, where he lost in the first round to
Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl (; born March 7, 1960) is a Czech-American former professional tennis player and coach. Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, he was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis ...
.
Bergström kicked off 1991 with a fair amount of success by reaching the semi-finals in
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
and the quarter-finals in
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
. He also reached the quarter-finals at
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
,
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
,
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
and
Toulouse
Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
, where he upset world number 5,
Michael Stich
Michael Detlef Stich (; born 18 October 1968) is a German former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in 1993, and No. 9 in men's doubles, achieved in ...
in the first round. Bergström also made two semi-finals, in
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
where he beat
Thomas Muster
Thomas Muster (born 2 October 1967) is an Austrian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Muster ...
and in
Båstad
Båstad () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden, with approximately 5,000 permanent residents. It is however one of Sweden's most typical summer resorts. The population is presumably mor ...
. His best result in a Grand Slam, was once again at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
, where he beat
Brad Gilbert
Brad Gilbert (born August 9, 1961) is an American former professional tennis player, tennis coach, and tennis commentator and analyst for ESPN. During his career, he won 20 singles titles and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 ...
on his route to the round of 16.
Bergström broke into the top 50 in the world for the first time on 22 April 1991 at number 48 on the
ATP ranking and during October advanced to number 40 on the ATP rankings. He made his debut for the
Swedish Davis Cup team in the
World Group qualifying round against the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
in
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
. He won both his singles matches and teaming up with
Rikard Bergh
Rikard Bergh (born 14 June 1966) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. He enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career, he won six doubles titles and finished as a runner-up five times. He achieved a c ...
, won the doubles.
1992–1993
Bergström made his first ATP Tour final at the first tournament of the year in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
losing to
Goran Ivanišević
Goran Ivanišević (; born 13 September 1971) is a Croatian former professional tennis player and current coach. He was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in July 1994. Ivanišević won 22 ATP To ...
in three sets. The following week he reached the quarter-finals in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
beating the world number 9,
Petr Korda
Petr Korda (born 23 January 1968) is a Czech former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in February 1998. Korda won ten singles titles, including the 1998 Austr ...
in the second round. He finished his 1992 Australian journey by beating world number 7, Guy Forget on route to the last 16 at the
Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
. After the Australian Open he reached his highest individual ranking of 32, on the ATP ranking. Later in the year, he also reached the quarter-finals in
Båstad
Båstad () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden, with approximately 5,000 permanent residents. It is however one of Sweden's most typical summer resorts. The population is presumably mor ...
and
Toulouse
Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
.
Partnering fellow Swede,
Magnus Gustafsson
Magnus Nils Gustafsson (born 3 January 1967) is a tennis coach and former top ten professional tennis player from Sweden. Gustafsson won 14 tour singles titles during his career and finished 15 consecutive seasons within the world's top 100, re ...
he reached his first and only doubles final on the ATP Tour at
Båstad
Båstad () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden, with approximately 5,000 permanent residents. It is however one of Sweden's most typical summer resorts. The population is presumably mor ...
.
He made his second Davis Cup appearance for Sweden in the
World Group quarter-finals against
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, when he replaced Gustafsson for the reverse singles and then defeated
Richard Fromberg
Richard James Fromberg (born 28 April 1970) is a former professional tennis player from Australia.
Tennis career
Fromberg began playing tennis at the age of 10. He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder.Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
for the second year running, losing to fellow Swede
Nicklas Kulti
Nicklas Kulti (born 22 April 1971) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. He was born in Stockholm.
Tennis career
Juniors
Kulti was ranked No. 1 in the junior world singles rankings in 1989 after winning the Australian Open and Wi ...
. At the
Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
he became the first player to defeat Ivan Lendl in the first round of the Australian Open, and by so doing breaking Lendl's record run of 40 consecutive first round victories in Grand Slam appearances. After defeating the eighth seeded Lendl in die first round, he also defeated the world number eleven and tournament tenth seed,
Wayne Ferreira
Wayne Richard Ferreira (born 15 September 1971) is a South African tennis coach and a former professional player. Ferreira won 15 ATP singles titles and 11 doubles titles. His career-high rankings were world No. 6 in singles (in May 1995) and ...
before losing to Stefan Edberg in the quarter-finals. Bergström also made the quarter-finals in
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
and the semi-finals in
Båstad
Båstad () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden, with approximately 5,000 permanent residents. It is however one of Sweden's most typical summer resorts. The population is presumably mor ...
and
Toulouse
Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
and ended the year ranked number 52 in the world.
1994–1996
1994 started less successful for Bergström and he only reaches two quarter-finals prior to the
French Open
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
, where he lost in the second round of the
qualifying event. His first quarter-final was at the
South African Open in
Sun City, where he defeated his compatriot and the world number 10, Magnus Gustafsson. His second quarter-final appearance was at the
AT&T Challenge in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
. Bergström's best result of the year was at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
where he reached the quarter-finals for the second time in his career, with victories over
Diego Nargiso,
Greg Rusedski
Gregory Rusedski (born 6 September 1973) is a Canadian-British former professional tennis player. He was the British No. 1 in 1997, 1999 and 2006, and reached the ATP Tour, ATP ranking of world No. 4 for periods from 6 October 1997 to 12 October ...
,
Jordi Burillo
Jordi Burillo Puig (; born 7 December 1972) is a retired tennis player from Spain. He won one singles title and a doubles title on the ATP Tour in his career. His style was very aggressive and powerful, hitting always the ball and serving very h ...
and
Bryan Shelton
Bryan Shelton (born December 22, 1965) is an American former college tennis coach and former professional tennis player. During his playing career, he won two singles and two doubles ATP tour titles, and reached the mixed doubles final at the 19 ...
, before losing to
Boris Becker
Boris Franz Becker (; born 22 November 1967) is a German former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Becker won 49 c ...
.
Bergström started 1995 with a ranking of 112, but struggled to gain any momentum on the
1995 ATP Tour
The Association of Tennis Professionals, Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour is the elite tour for professional tennis organized by the ATP. The ATP Tour includes the Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tournaments (organized by the Interna ...
. He finished the year with only two match victories on the Tour and with an ATP ranking of number 259 in world. His best result was on the Challenger Tour, where he had to qualify for the main draw at the
Tampere Open
The Tampere Open is a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It is currently part of the ATP Challenger Tour, and has been held annually at the Tampere Tennis Center in Tampere, Finland, since 2008 (and 2007 for the women's ITF). ...
, and then made the final before losing to
Galo Blanco
Galo Blanco (; born 8 October 1976) is a retired professional tennis player from Oviedo, Spain. After many years as a professional tennis coach Blanco joined the Davis Cup steering committee in 2018.
Tennis career
Blanco came closest to winnin ...
.
In 1996 Bergström participated on
ITF Satellite circuit and during April won the Germany 1 Circuit.
He made his last appearance at an ATP Tour event at his hometown tournament, the
Swedish Open
The Swedish Open is a professional tennis tournament held in Båstad, Sweden. It is played
on outdoor clay courts in July.
The men's event (sponsored by Skistar) is an ATP Tour 250 tournament on the ATP Tour.
The women's event (sponsored by ...
in
Båstad
Båstad () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden, with approximately 5,000 permanent residents. It is however one of Sweden's most typical summer resorts. The population is presumably mor ...
where he made the main draw as a
lucky loser
A lucky loser is a sports competitor (player or team) who loses a match in a knockout tournament or loses in qualifying, but who then enters the main draw. This can occur when another competitor withdraws during the tournament because of illness ...
and then lost in the first round to Richard Fromberg.
ATP career finals
Singles: 2 (0–2)
Doubles: 1 (0–1)
Challenger titles
Singles: (2)
See also
*
List of Sweden Davis Cup team representatives
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergstrom, Christian
1967 births
Living people
Swedish male tennis players
Tennis players from Gothenburg
20th-century Swedish sportsmen