Rolf Norberg

Rolf Norberg (born 31 January 1952) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden.

Rolf Norberg
Full nameRolf Norberg
Country (sports) Sweden
Born (1952-01-31) 31 January 1952
Borgholm, Sweden[1]
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Career record22–46
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 90 (2 July 1977)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open3R (1977)
US Open1R (1973, 1976)
Doubles
Career record21–44
Career titles0
Grand Slam doubles results
US Open2R (1973)

Career

Norberg partnered Björn Borg to win the Scandinavian Indoor Championships doubles title in Helsinki in 1973 and won the singles at the Swedish Championships in 1975. On the Grand Prix circuit, one of his best wins as a singles player came in the 1976 Swedish Open when he eliminated second seed Wojtek Fibak.[2] His only Grand Prix final was in doubles, at the Aix-en-Provence Open in 1977, with local player Patrice Dominguez. They were defeated in the final by Ilie Năstase and Ion Țiriac.

Grand Slam

He made main draw appearances at both the French Open and US Open. Most notably he reached the third round of the 1977 French Open, opening the tournament with a win over Czechoslovakian qualifier Pavel Složil, then causing an upset by defeating fourth seed Eddie Dibbs.[3]

Davis Cup

Throughout the 1970s he also played a total of six Davis Cup ties for Sweden and featured in the country's 1975 campaign when they won their first title.[4] He played his first tie in 1973, against Spain in Båstad, called up to partner Ove Bengtson for the doubles rubber. They won that match and it was Bengtson again that Norberg partnered when he returned to the side in 1975 for Sweden's Europe Zone B quarter-final against West Germany. On this occasion Norberg and his partner lost, but Sweden went on to win the tie. He wasn't required for the rest of the tournament, which Sweden won over Czechoslovakia in the final.[5] He next played in 1976 against Italy in Rome. With Borg making himself unavailable for selection, Norberg had the opportunity to play two singles matches, both of which he lost, in addition to the doubles rubber.[6] His other three ties all came in the 1977 Davis Cup.

Personal life

Norberg is married to arts journalist Madeleine Grive, the daughter of famed Swedish sports commentator Bengt Grive. He works as a commentator himself for Eurosport.[7]

Grand Prix career finals

Doubles: 1 (0–1)
Result W/L Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 1977 Aix-en-Provence, France Clay France Patrice Dominguez Romania Ilie Năstase
Romania Ion Țiriac		 6–1, 5–7, 3–6, 3–6

See also

References
  1. "Kalogeropoulos is among four more to participate in the U.S. National Indoor". The Daily Times. 13 February 1974 – via Newspapers.com. Born and raised in Borgholm, Sweden, Norberg is a prodigy of former Swedish Davis Cup great, Sevn Davidson, [...]
  2. "Norberg upsets Wojtek Fibak". The Spokesman-Review. 7 July 1976. p. 55. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  3. Tyrrell, Roland (27 May 1977). "Dibbs upset by Norberg". Beaver County Times. p. B2. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  4. "En underbar coach med massor av humor". Expressen (in Swedish). 4 November 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  5. "Borg Clinches Cup For Sweden". Toledo Blade. December 22, 1975. p. 36. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  6. "Sweden 1976: Just One Person Missing…". We Are Tennis. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  7. "Aftonbladet nyheter: Killar våga vägra se på tv-sport". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 3 April 2000. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
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