Australia Open legend Todd Woodbridge has his eye on the ball

A 19-year-old hyper-focused boy Todd Woodbridge their eyes are on the prize at Kooyong Tennis Stadium. (Photo, 1990.)

Now a popular commentator Australian Open – starting today – Woodbridge retired from a stellar tennis career in 2005, having won 83 doubles titles.

His Tennis Australia biography reader:

Todd Woodbridge formed one half of arguably the most successful doubles combination in history; Pairing with compatriot Mark Woodforde, he won 11 Grand Slam doubles titles and five consecutive Wimbledon titles, as well as an Olympic gold medal in Atlanta in 1996.

Woodforde retired shortly after the pair won the silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics… Woodbridge began a successful partnership with Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman, which went on to win a further five majors.

Woodbridge, who was part of Australia’s Davis Cup-winning teams in 1999 and 2003, retired after the 2005 Wimbledon championships with a record 83 doubles titles. He also proved to be a masterful singles player; He rose to world No. 19 in May 1997, the same year he reached the Wimbledon semi-finals and won two ATP singles titles.

**This photo is part of an IA. A series that looks at Australia through the eyes of award-winning photojournalist Bill McAuley.**

Bill McAuley’s 40-plus-year news career began in 1969 as a student photographer at ‘The Age’ in Melbourne.

He has several published collections including ‘Portraits of the Soul: A lifetime of images with Bill McAuley’ and ‘Last Light on Victoria Dock, 1999’. Click to see more from Bill Here.

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