The Hindu : Woodbridge still hungry for titles

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Woodbridge still hungry for titles

By K. Keerthivasan

Todd Woodbridge of Australia, the tennis doubles legend, who is in Chennai to take part in the Tata Open tennis tournament, looks forward to making it a memorable event. - Photo: M. Moorthy

CHENNAI DEC. 30. He is a legend on his own turf. There are only very few who can boast of the records that he possesses. A record 74 doubles titles, of which 61 came with with Mark Woodforde. Daunting, isn't it?

Despite all the achievements and cult status back home, the 31-year-old displays no signs of ego or "you know I am busy, come later" sort of stuff.

Dressed in a silver coloured kurta-pyjama for the inauguration ceremony, the Australian sat down to share his thoughts in an exclusive chat with the The Hindu at the Nungambakkam Stadium on Monday.

Woodbridge is not a new comer to India. He was a member of the Australian Davis Cup team which played against India in 1993. His first visit to Chennai was for the Gold Flake Open in 1998. ``I enjoy different cultures, am experienced and mature enough to appreciate other cultures. It feels good to be in a country which has a sporting tradition in tennis and cricket. It is nice to come and play here.''

His success with Mark Woodforde is a story in itself of how two different players overcame their differences, talked over their bad days, and went on to gather titles. Their records speaks for themselves. Between 1990 and 2000, the two claimed six Wimbledon titles (five in a row), one French Open, two Australian Open and an Olympic gold and silver medals. How was it humanly possible?

"We both took pride in each other's performances. We did not blame each other. We found out a way to win,'' he said. Woodbridge remembers vividly the year 1999, a year in which the two failed to win any Grand Slam title.

"We sat together and set ourselves new targets.'' Woodbridge also made it clear at that time to his partner that if they were not able to win any title in

the forthcoming year, they were going to part ways. The New Year was fresh, and that was how Woodbridge saw it. The year 2000 turned out to be excellent for the two. ``We won 8 titles.'' The reason, he explains, is because ``we set ourselves new targets. We played well in key matches. It comes through communication.''

When Woodforde retired in 2000, Woodbridge found a new partner in Jonas Bjorkman. The two did wonderfully well to clinch two titles this year — Wimbledon and the Australian Open.

How does he view the split between the star Indian doubles pair of Bhupathi and Leander Paes. "It is a shame that they split. It is a shame for Indian tennis. But maybe, they felt that they were not winning enough together.''

Now, as the Vice-President of the ATP Players Council, Woodbridge is of the view that doubles is "not facing any crisis, as people like to say.'' He believes all it needs is a slight "reshuffle''. He argues that with the new system introduced this year where singles rankings is taken into consideration while making the doubles draw, things will only get better. The move, he feels, will make doubles more interesting as more top-ranked singles players will step into doubles too.

"If Mark Philippoussis is interested, there is a place for him too,'' he says. "I am a member of the All England Club and I know for sure that the importance of doubles will remain.''

As he sits and talks, the enthusiasm and the spirit to scale new summits remain as strong as ever. "I feel young. I can still win major (doubles) titles. My expiry date, if you can call it that, will be the Athens Olympic Games in 2004.'' He is also doubly keen to break John McEnroe's record of 77 doubles titles.

What has tennis taught him. "The biggest thing is discipline and hard work.'' When he calls it a day, will coaching be an option? ``No,'' he says, "I am interested in the business side of tennis.''

Any special memories of Chennai? "I hope I carry a lot of them at the end of the week. If I could win that (doubles title), I will be happy.''

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