Life has much to offer for Woodies than just tennis

Life has much to offer for Woodies than just tennis
Kadambari Murali

WIMBLEDON, JULY 9: It is perhaps ironic that it was John Patrick McEnroe who brought them together, for last month, with their first French Open title, they broke the long-standing record of 57 tour titles held jointly by McEnroe-Peter Fleming and Bob Hewitt/Frew McMillan. The story goes that McEnroe, who played a few events with the elder of this Aussie duo in the late eighties (they won the US Open doubles in 1989), told him that if he was serious about his doubles, he had to look for a partner who had three things.

Preferably left-handed, someone who took his doubles as seriously as he did himself and finally, someone from his own country. ``He had almost picked Todd (Woodbridge) for me,'' said Mark Woodforde. ``When I saw Todd, I knew he was the man for me.''

Well, maybe McEnroe didn't use quite those words, but they must have been somewhat close. That was quite some time ago. They played their first tournament as a team in New Haven in 1990, losing in the first round. It took five events together before their first title in Brussels in 1991. The Woodies finished the next year as the world's No. 1 doubles team.

Since then, according to Woodforde, ``In all our years together, we have had maybe four disagreements. That's not bad in a marriage.'' They won their 60th Tour title on Saturday, their sixth Wimbledon crown. Making his last appearance as a player in Wimbledon, Woodforde, who is retiring from the Tour after this year's Sydney Olympics, said: ``It is much easier to say goodbye when you're at the top. It makes it a lot easier to step out.

``I've played this game long enough, I've had a lot of enjoyment, a great partnership with Todd. But there isn't anything left now. I've always believed in having a goal. There aren't any goals left now after this year. For me, if there's no carrot dangling in front of me, there is no motivation. I can start my second life.''

``I think I would just like to start a new life. Tennis players always have, it seems, two lives. Once professional life finishes, then you can return to some normalcy.''

In a way that proves that life is stranger than fiction, the Woodies' wives are expecting babies around the same time, a month apart. ``You know, both of us -- Todd and Tasha are expecting in December and Erin and myself are expecting in January. Family life is just around the corner, and I'm excited. We all are,'' said Woodforde.

``Everything has always been towards tennis, getting ready for a particular tournament or match, going to bed at a certain time, getting up, getting X hours of sleep. It will be nice not to run by a particular schedule,'' he added.

This was obviously Woodforde's day and normally irreverent Woodbridge kept well in the background, letting his long time partner and friend, who was obviously feeling the moment, do the talking. Yet, there was one poignant moment for him, when asked where he would go from Wimbledon, Woodbridge was quiet for a moment, then replied that he had a guest in the players' box.

Tracy Stewart, the widow of golfer Payne Stewart, who died in freak plane crash last year. ``I'm heading off to Ireland to go to a memorial service for him in a place called Waterville, that I visited the last two years with him (Payne) on holiday,'' said Woodbridge. ``If I could dedicate my part of our victory here, it would be to him. From his passing, my tennis career has kind of hit another wave. I learnt a lot from his death. It made me focus on the time that I had left in my career, because his was taken away at almost his height, when he won the US Open. Sometimes you think things are not going well for you. It was an opportunity for me to sit back and realise that I had only so much time left in the game at my best, so I should not waste that time.''