No sooner had Swedes grieved the retirement of Bjorn Borg, and wistfully wished for his sixth French title in 1981, than an unheralded young countryman conquered Paris the following year. Unseeded 17-year-old Mats Arne Olof Wilander beat powerful one-time champ Guillermo Vilas at his own baseline game, became the youngest of French champs. It was the first of seven singles majors for Wilander over a seven-year stretch when he competed at the top of the game, reaching No. 1 in 1988.

Although Michael Chang, a younger 17 in 1989, usurped his male precocity record for the majors, Wilander won the French again in 1985 (dethroning Ivan Lendl, 6-2 in the fourth) and 1988, and the Australian, on grass, in 1983 and 1984. But it was 1988, an all-time season, that stands as his masterpiece. He won three majors, starting with a magnificent five-set Australian final-round victory over hometown hero Patrick Cash in Melbourne's newly opened Flinders Park. It was the Aussie Open's first year on hard courts, and victory meant that Mats was only the second man (emulating Jimmy Connors) to win majors on grass, clay and hard. While he won the French without much trouble, his dreams of a Grand Slam were pierced by Miloslav Mecir in the Wimbledon quarters. An arduous U.S. backcourt duel with Lendl, who'd beaten him for the title in 1987, lasted over four hours before at last Wilander showed more offensive initiative to win.

As the first winner of three majors in a year since Connors in 1974, he completed 1988 with six victories in 15 tournaments, with a 53-11 record, and personal prize money of $1,726,731.

His career Stats: 33 tournament wins; a 524-164 match record, and earnings of $7,976,256. Eight Career Grand Slam titles (7 in Singles & 1 Doubles)

MAJOR TITLES (8) - Australian singles, 1983, 1984, 1988; French singles, 1982, 1985, 1988; US. singles, 1988; Wimbledon doubles, 1986.

DAVIS CUP - 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990; record 36-14 in singles, 7-2 in doubles.