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Woodies face doubles trouble
Posted: Thursday April 20, 2000 03:59 PM
In a branch of tennis largely devoid of big-name attractions Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge are an anomaly. During a 10-year partnership, the Woodies, as they're known, have become synonymous with the best that doubles has to offer, garnering respect from fans and players alike. Doubles specialist Luke Jensen, for example, is among those in awe of their talents. "When you look at the Woodies," he told me, "they don't do it with that trademark of the 90s and 2000 season where it's all power. They do it with old-fashioned technique where they get the ball down and communicate with each other. And that's the beauty of the game of tennis, and particularly of doubles tennis." Style may be their trademark, but substance is just as important, which is a mindset reflected in the Woodies' trophy tally. Their 56 doubles titles to date include two at their native Aussie Open, five consecutive Wimbledon crowns and two straight U.S. Opens -- during a partnership in which, prior to this season, they'd won at least 2 titles every year since 1990. All of which leaves them just one short of equaling the record for the most doubles titles in the open era -- an achievement about which Todd Woodbridge would be justly proud. "To get the record, I think would be sensational," he said on a recent trip to Atlanta. "People have started to put us in the category of one of the great teams of all time. And I do think we've been the best of our era. We've got one to tie McEnroeand Fleming, and Hewitt and McMillan, and that's a lot of titles. I don't think I ever dreamed we would win 57. And if we could do that, we'd put ourselves in the history books. I suppose we've done that a few times already but we might as well finish it off." While the Woodies achievements undoubtedly make them special however, in some ways their success has not received the respect it deserves. In the modern game, where singles is by far the main attraction, doubles is often relegated to a distant back seat. And there are some in the sport who say it no longer belongs in the professional ranks. Ironically one of the most influential doubles critics is John McEnroe, one of the men whose record the Woodies are trying to equal. In a recent magazine article, the United States Davis Cup captain said, "Doubles has no place in professional tennis. They don't sell any tickets. Nobody wants to watch it."
His harsh words have naturally incensed some of the game's top doubles specialists, Todd Woodbridge among them. "Well, it's mind boggling to me that a guy like John McEnroe would come out and say such things about his own sport and a particular event he was so good at," says Woodbridge. "And one wonders whether he's just trying to put his name in the press when things like that come out, because it was an essential part of him becoming a great player. He was a serve-volley player, and it was a part of the game that he used to fine tune his singles game." South Africa's Ellis Ferreira is even more strident. "Tennis is singles and doubles. It's always been singles and doubles. You can't split the two up. You've got to think of it as offense and defense or bowling and batting [in cricket]. You can't split the two up and just have a batting league where all you do is hit. It's difficult because doubles is a separate event. But you've got to try and keep the sport together and say tennis is singles and doubles. It's not singles, and it's not doubles. It's together." Together it may be, but it's not a partnership of equals as the ATP allots doubles less than 25 percent of the total prize money on offer on the tour. As a result most of the game's star names tend to stick to singles, which means the media don't cover the doubles, which in turn results in disinterest from the fans. It's a vicious circle. Despite the imbalance however, most doubles players like Luke Jensen still feel they have a supportive role to play. "In the next 10 years the game of tennis is going to be revolutionized. And I think you're going to need the doubles guys out there doing the corporate clinics and filling the spots the singles guys don't really fill," he said. "If you look at the figures on what people watch, everyone wants to watch Agassi. But that's one guy. What if he loses. The tournament still has to go on, and that's why we have to market all the players, singles and doubles." While doubles will continue to play a secondary role, the ATP says it currently has no plans to drop it from the tour altogether. However its plans to considerably reduce the number of teams allowed to enter the doubles in the various tournaments have left many doubles players asking whether this is the beginning of the end for the professional doubles game.
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