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Curtain closing on Woodies
By Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. -- The 2000 U.S. Open won't make the voluminous career highlight reel for the world's best doubles team. The redoubtable Woodies, Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge, bowed out of the final Grand Slam of their gilded career when they a dropped a sloppy third-set tiebreaker to Max Mirnyi and Lleyton Hewitt Saturday. There were no tears, no maudlin speeches and only tinges of disappointment. "If you're going to lose, at least it was to someone from your country who's your teammate [i.e., Hewitt]," Woodforde reasoned afterward. He then good-naturedly referred to Hewitt, as most of the older Australian players do, as "a little s---." Winners of a record 61 doubles titles -- including 11 Grand Slams but not numerous Davis Cup heroics -- Team Wood will call it quits after this year. The pair will defend their Olympic gold medal in Sydney, try to help Australia retain the Davis Cup, and perhaps play in the year-end doubles championship, provided that beleaguered event even comes off. Then it's curtains. Woodforde, who's nearly 35, goes into retirement, where fatherhood awaits. Woodbridge, his partner since 1991, resumes in 2001 with Jonas Bjorkman. By losing Saturday, the Woodies were precluded from tying the record for career Grand Slam doubles titles (12) set by countrymen John Newcombe and Tony Roche. Nonetheless, their partnership was remarkable, likely to be recalled as the best ever. At a time when men's tennis saw strategy die a painful death at the hands of sheer power, the Woodies were a pleasure to watch. While neither is endowed with a whipsaw serve or heavy strokes, they rely on anticipation, angles and unparalleled teamwork to thrive. "It's like a marriage," says Woodforde, who, like an adoring spouse, refers to his partner with the embarrassingly affectionate nickname "Toddy." "You learn how to co-exist on and off the court." Like any marriage, the Woodies endured their rough patches. A series of injuries (and Woodbridge's temperamental personality) limited their effectiveness in the late '90s. They persevered, though, and this year won two Slams -- Wimbledon for the sixth time and the French Open for the first. They were even the top-seeded team coming into the Open. "I think we got the most out of each other," says Woodforde. "Maybe a few of the other guys are breathing a sigh of relief now that we're out of the tournament, that we're not around too much longer." The other teams on tour might indeed be exhaling. Fans of well-played cerebral tennis, though, are already ruing the day.
Sports Illustrated staff writer Jon Wertheim will file daily reports from the Open.
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