One thousand and counting for Edberg

Tennis

Stefan Edberg became only the fourth player to clock up 1,000 top-class matches when he beat the Italian, Renzo Furlan, 6-3 6-1 to reach the second round of the Essen Open in Germany yesterday. The former Wimbledon champion joined Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe as the only players to have reached the milestone.

Edberg said he would treasure the achievement for years to come. "It's a milestone. As you get older, these things get more important. It will mean a lot in 15 to 20 years from now."

He has a long way to go to catch Lendl, who tops the list with 1,310 matches ahead of Connors (1,180) and McEnroe (1,033). Edberg's 1,001st match is against Pete Sampras.

Although the Swede has now slipped to 23rd in the rankings, he has no plans to retire yet. "Not many players get to the 1,000th match. I'm glad I won it. I want to keep going as long as I feel I am playing good tennis."