Edberg Hurts Ankle In Davis Cup Swan Song

Thomas Enqvist saved the Swedish Davis Cup team after Stefan Edberg couldn’t do his best because of a twisted ankle.

Enqvist, who won consecutive ATP Tour titles in Paris and Stockholm in the past month, downed Arnaud Boetsch 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) to even the Davis Cup final against France 1-1 Friday.

Edberg twisted his right ankle early in the opening match and lost to Cedric Pioline 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 before a sellout crowd of 5,600 at the Malmo Convention Center.

Sweden’s Nicklas Kulti and Jonas Bjorkman are scheduled to meet Guy Forget and Guillaume Raoux in the doubles today, but both team captains can change their pairs up to an hour before the match.

“I took a wrong step,” said Edberg, who is retiring after this weekend’s final. “It might be my last match. It’s not a bad injury, but it’s swollen.”

Edberg 30, hurt the ankle as he approached the net for a volley midway through the opening set. The surface being used for the matches is Plexipave and it was temporarily installed last week.

Edberg will try to hit a few balls today after the doubles match. If he decides not to play Sunday’s singles against Boetsch, either Kulti or Bjorkman will replace him.