U.S. OPEN

September 6, 1996

Todd Woodbridge

Mark Woodforde

TODD WOODBRIDGE: I don't know.

MARK WOODFORDE: We just asked for our record. We are going to look through it and see ourselves. It is just a combination of points and strengths and weaknesses that we have, and we probably -- lefthanded, righthanded, we want to win regardless being at singles or doubles. And, you know, we cover for each other. We communicate very well on the court and maybe some of my weaknesses Todd, you know, covers enough and I, you know, cover my strengths; cover some of his weaknesses so, you know, there is not one real blatant weakness in our game where some of the other teams maybe there are.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Maybe of the '90s. At least in these first six years so far pretty amazing. I guess when you go into a tournament, you don't look at your record because it is a new tournament and it is today and now, when you sort of go back, it is pretty incredible.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: I don't think you could ever ask for a better year. I don't think you could ever ever do better basically. We won every big tournament there was to win in a two and a half month period, so, we have dealt with a lot of highs and a couple of lows, a lot of pressure and we have come through pretty strong and I think that is actually due to the fact that we have both been able to help each other. That is what we do. We are able to cover when one guy is not playing as well or having a few troubles mentally or off the court or physically, or whatever, the other guy is willing and capable to take over and help and do the right thing. That is why it is teamwork. That is what is a good team.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: 6.

MARK WOODFORDE: Well, he was looking for a partner. I was look looking for a partner and my - I was working with a physical trainer. I had really no coach in late 1990 and Todd had a coach, but no physical trainer and the coach and the trainer got talking saying, well, maybe they could play with each other. I think basically that was it. We decided to give it a go. We lost badly in the first match we ever played, but the second one, we had a pretty good result and we, you know, our coach and the trainer sort of convinced us that perhaps there was a future together so now the coach coaches both of us and the trainer trains both of us as well.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: New Haven up the road.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Not -- sort of. I was a junior and just coming out of juniors actually I think it - I might have still been in my junior year the first time we played and Mark was, to me, he was one of the established players in Australia. He had nearly beaten Lendl at Wimbledon and I looked up to him quite a lot. He was someone that I would like to play or beat, however you would like to look at it and -- sorry, I have lost my --

MARK WOODFORDE: Train of thought.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: -- train of thought.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Ray Ruffles.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Mark Waters.

MARK WOODFORDE: I think one of our great rivals. When we first began, there was Fitzy and Jarryd were still around, Flach and Seguso, although they sort of finished once we started, we got to play them. They were an established team. Fitzy and Jarryd sort of retired as well, and Jacco and Paul came along and we have had some - we haven't played each other a whole lot, but we have had some pretty big matches and --

TODD WOODBRIDGE: When we have played them, it has been the final U.S. Open, final of the World Championships, semis of the World Championships, always been semis in Olympics. Always been in matches that have meant a lot, so.....

MARK WOODFORDE: I mean, it is a Grand Slam and, you know, it a huge tournament for us. It is - was a major focus from you guys and the media about that. It is one of the premier tournaments and it is very high on our list, you know. Along with the other three - other Slams, I mean, it is the best.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Probably it rates well with us today because we actually lost to them two years ago in the finals here back in '94 we lost the final. So, for us, it was, you know, we didn't want to let them get two of the U.S. Opens over us.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Yeah, I think experience too of playing a long time together. Perhaps earlier in our partnership, the first couple of years, I don't think we may have won those matches because we might have paniced a little bit and not being able to let ourselves, you know, have confidence and patience in ourselves whereas yesterday and today, we were able to just, you know, keep our heads down and keep trying to make the ball and be in play and let the other guys beat us if they do beat us too good, but we certainly -- we weren't going to give it to them and that comes with experience.

MARK WOODFORDE: Yeah, it's disappointing not playing the best of five, but it is also disappointing not playing any of the early matches on that Center Court there. It is one of the most difficult courts to play on and they were fortunate enough to play their semis yesterday and in some conditions then to come out, it is just, you know, I wish that had followed the lead like the Australian and Wimbledon and play some early rounds on Center Court even if it is maybe some night matches, but Wimbledon is and the Australian really the only ones. The French, they are the same. I mean, you are lucky to play a doubles on any of their show courts, really.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: I think the president of the USTA just said on the court, he said you have some great doubles matches but you people don't come out and watch. Well, it is pretty hard to come out and watch at 11 o'clock Friday morning because most people are at work during a weekday and it is in the middle of the day. Perhaps they could have a look and play it when it deserves to be played as a U.S. Open final.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Well, I don't know if it is more important, but that will be everything for us, I guess, that would be. We have won all the major championships, so, it would be great to get that.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: That is pretty tough. Pretty difficult.

MARK WOODFORDE: Yeah, probably. You know, you look at it you think, you know, three in a row, two in a row, if you just count the Olympics, but yeah, I think maybe that -- maybe what we suffered from, maybe this year at the Australian Open, you know, we certainly didn't play our best tennis there at the tournament and playing at home, I guess, is a little bit extra pressure and I guess now having won it two again and the Olympics, you know, we are going to put pressure on ourselves to try and win our own tournament again, but, you know, probably the priority would be, you know, the French anyway, I think.

MARK WOODFORDE: Rest. Home.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Davis Cup in Croatia.

MARK WOODFORDE: Two weeks.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: A week off and then the following week is Davis Cup.

MARK WOODFORDE: We are actually going for the first time - we were a little bit disappointed that our schedules couldn't allow us to get back to Australia and really enjoy some of the celebrations, I mean, we heard, you know, some fantastic stories about how they really honored the Gold Medalists and we weren't able to go back there. Now we have decided to - after the Davis Cup, we are going to fly into Melbourne on the grand final of the IFL, it is a big, you know, football match, probably don't know about. They do show it on TV here, and there is supposed to be like thousands of people expected to the final and they honor the gold medalists, so Todd and I are going to fly in just for the day or for the afternoon really couple of hours and be, you know, they get you on a convertible car and take you around the grounds and obviously you are applauded a little bit so since we haven't, you know, participated in any of that, this is -- we thought we may as well get back there if we can because the next week we are playing in Singapore which isn't too far away. So, we feel it is important to sort of get back in it and show the rest of that country that, you know, we were just as excited as what they were that we won the gold medal.

MARK WOODFORDE: If we are still playing well and had a chance, it would be huge a great help that was today.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: I am heading home tomorrow hopefully I am sure that that is going to happen.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: A lot of kids in the neighborhood that live in - I am sure I am going to have a few knock on the door once they know that I am home.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: I think Australians are huge sport fans in all sports. When they have people that have results, they expect them to do well and they really sort of get lined them and it doesn't matter whether it is in squash or tennis or batmitton or football or soccer.

MARK WOODFORDE: But we wish they would give more publicity for the doubles anyway because it is still lacking. You know, I think I mean, our four Wimbledons, you know, winning that Gold Medal is totally overshadowed winning four Wimbledons in a row. So, you sort of wish that maybe we would hear about it a little bit more maybe if we got back there a little bit more often to make it a little bit bigger as well.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Or the third set tiebreak?

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Not much, no. I think it is fairly - it is a little bit of luck and I don't think like yesterday, last night with Sampras and Corretja, you know, he misses a ball by that much, doublefaults on the matchpoint, and four something hours of tennis is finished now and then. I was let down in that match. I was disappointed and I think today's match is pretty much similar, the last time we played, it was 18-16 in the third and we could have had another match like that and it builds into great watching, great tennis. It is almost like it is all, bang, it is over. I don't think it is good.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: I wouldn't the way I finished like him.

MARK WOODFORDE: He was probably so tired he is just probably wanting to win.

MARK WOODFORDE: I had breakfast this morning - at breakfast, we were both sort of like, yeah, you know, I think it was unfortunate the way it finished for Alex. I think Alex Corretja had a lot of support and, you know, Pete has been through that situation a couple of times and I think it has been highlighted by some other players and, you know, I mean, what an effort though to be able to just whack down those aces and still play incredible points when he is throwing up, not that I don't think that he is sick or anything, but I mean, what will power just to get through that, but I think both of us and our wives really thought that Alex, you know, it was really a battle for Alex and we were actually barracking for Alex; sorry Pete.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: I don't know whether they have spoken about it much. This year that has been looks like it has been a concern a couple of times to him that he has got to the latter stages and had some tough matches and got a little bit tired, so that is an area he has got to work on because it has happened, you know, a few times this year.

MARK WOODFORDE: I think some of those guys are, you know, not as fit as what probably you or I may think they are. Becker and Ivanisevic and Pete, they play sometimes in the heat of the day and if they play a tough opponent who is playing well, returning their serves, you know, they are the ones that are sort of running out of gas and yet with that big serve they are able to just finish the point so much quicker than say, perhaps someone like Todd or I. We don't have a huge explosive serve. We have to work for every service game. They sort of - sometimes they can breeze through a whole set without even a breaking a sweat on holding serve and yet they just have to work on breaking serve, so that, you know, it is just interesting to point out that sometimes they are not quite as fit as perhaps some of the other guys.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: We have done that quite a few times and it is just one of those things we always say we don't really cherish it very much, not one of the things that we have to do, but we both are pretty professional and we both have a lot of - set our goals high. We both want to do well in our singles, so, when we get out there, we both want to win and we both play to win, so, you know, we both -- maybe for a little while - after not so happy with each other, but it only takes an hour or so, it is, can't do much about it once it is done.

MARK WOODFORDE: Yeah, I remember it very fondly and it was important at that time for me because I was still, you know, trying to break in on the Tour making a name for myself, and beating someone like McEnroe, a hometown boy, at the U.S. Open, a lot of focus on him doing well, he was in the midst of a comeback and, you know, he had high hopes of getting back to the top 10 at that time and, so, I think even now people, you know, on the street or they remember me from playing against him and playing with him. I was able to come back the next year and win the doubles with him and, you know, that was a huge help. That is probably why I am sitting here today as being able to learn how to play in big matches against someone like McEnroe in big crowds and I have learned a lot from it by playing a few tournaments with him which is why I am sitting here because I have got it up here in my head.

MARK WOODFORDE: He hit Todd at Wimbledon right in the head as well. He is lucky to have an eye.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: It takes an all mighty swing. Sometimes you have got to duck and it will hit the backdrop. You have just got to get out of the way quick enough.

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