US OPEN

September 6, 2001

Todd Woodbridge

TODD WOODBRIDGE: No. That was a tough tiebreak. I felt like we were on top most of that match, then all of a sudden we're into a super tiebreak. It's a weird feeling. Kind of strange, but we got through it. Only just. But we got through it.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: It feels great. It's very special because Rennae and I have been playing at the same junior tournaments since we're eight years old. Our parents both retired to the same town on the north coast of New South Wales.

RENNAE STUBBS: My mum did.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: And see each other regularly at the local bowling club. It's very special because we spent so much time together. We didn't play until the last year or two together. To win a tournament like this is great.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: First one.

RENNAE STUBBS: First Grand Slam for us.

RENNAE STUBBS: I wasn't good enough (laughter).

TODD WOODBRIDGE: I don't know. That was the way. You know, over the last three, four, five years, she's started to play extremely well. Before then, I think she was sort of still learning the craft a bit.

RENNAE STUBBS: I wasn't good enough (laughter).

TODD WOODBRIDGE: To be truthfully honest, she was on my back for about five years before that.

RENNAE STUBBS: See, told you. I wasn't good enough.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: I was playing with some other people at that stage. They weren't playing anymore.

RENNAE STUBBS: Then I beat you in the final of the Australian Open. You decided, "I should maybe play with her." I had to get a win over him.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: In the finals of the Australian Open.

RENNAE STUBBS: 2000 Australian Open.

RENNAE STUBBS: I played with Jarred Palmer. Todd was playing with Arantxa that year. We thought, "Why don't we give it a go together."

TODD WOODBRIDGE: What do you think of it? Let me ask you.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: That's why I want to ask. Sometimes it's good to get an opinion of the people on the other side.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: I'm very much a traditionalist. Where it helps is that it gets it on USA at 7 p.m. tonight as a lead-in for the main event, which works quite well. It's sort of a lead-up to the singles. That's where it becomes a positive. But in terms of playing an Open championship and winning it on the best player merits, it doesn't hold.

RENNAE STUBBS: I think if they're going to do it, which seems like they're going that way, doesn't seem like players have much of a say, as far as the majority are concerned. But I think if they are going to do it, I think they should consider maybe in the final making it best-of-three. I honestly don't think tonight was a great example of why it should be based on a tiebreak. I think the four of us are such good doubles players. It should come down to little bit more than one or two points. That's what it came down to. Honestly, it was one point. In the final, I think they should do best-of-three.

RENNAE STUBBS: That's the quid pro quo.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: I think it was nice tonight to finish in a full house. That's special. You win your championship, hold your trophy in front of a full house. That's what you wouldn't have otherwise.

RENNAE STUBBS: Oh, it feels great. Like Todd was saying, I mean, we've been the closest of friends since we were nine and ten years of age. We've pretty much grown up together. We live in Orlando, the both of us now, so we see each other a lot. I think that meant the most to me, actually forever and ever our names will be embedded on that trophy together. Being such great friends for such a long time, you know, I think we're like brother and sister almost. So, it's really nice. Sort of special.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: I think perhaps I've been able to help Rennae in the last year and a half to win some bigger tournaments. Wimbledon this year. Consistently she's improved. From my experience, having played so long with Mark Woodforde, being in big matches, just being able to pass on some of what you feel in those occasions. Tonight was a good example. I think we talk sometimes about her own women's doubles, trying to improve certain things. Once you do that, you're working on the court, too, in a good, positive manner. That helps that.

RENNAE STUBBS: I mean, we're both really good doubles players, I think that's simple, besides the fact that Todd has helped me a lot with little aspects of my game. In big matches, we're both really good doubles players. I think I'm 2 and he's 2 in the world in doubles.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: It's an instinct for us more so than anything.

RENNAE STUBBS: We've been playing mixed doubles when we were kids. That's what I started playing actually competitively, was doubles, mixed doubles, on Saturday afternoon.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Pretty tough with this format, that's for sure. You know, you see, once you get into a quick fire there, it goes a bit either way. I mean, who knows? I'm not thinking about that just yet. I mean, a Grand Slam really you shoot down your chances by having two sets and a super tiebreak. There will be an element of luck. You have to have it all on your side.

RENNAE STUBBS: We were calling it the chook raffle.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: "Chook" is a phrase for chicken you get at a raffle in a club. Finally after we won the first set, that gave you your free ticket into the chook raffle, super tiebreak.

RENNAE STUBBS: No. I didn't even know.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: I think it's something that they seriously like because of the TV element.

RENNAE STUBBS: Like I said, what I think really needs to be done, in the big matches like the finals, I think they need to go back to a three-set match. Unfortunately, it won't get on television like it did today. It makes for a little bit more purity, at least to the title match.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: What we are doing in that respect is we're going to trial it. We're going to try it in a period of next year, we're trying it in three different continents to get a survey of what the fans like and what the people watching it feel it's going to do for the game, whether it improves watching it for them. Then we'll come back and then discuss what the feedback is from that. The Australian Open did want to try to put it into play for 2002. It was rejected strongly by all of the players. In that case, they're still happy to try the mixed. They're satisfied that we're going to at least experiment in a certain amount of tournaments with it, then we can give you more info what happens after that. I think the reason for trying it is we feel that we want to be seen to be trying to improve a product. If we can do that, then that's what's important, make it more friendly for people watching, and perhaps more friendly for television.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: As yet, I can't say what tournaments. It has been passed by the council.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Yes. It will be in the fall following the Australian Open, most likely.

RENNAE STUBBS: Seems like an exhibition.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: That's the feedback we want and the feedback we need to pass on to the directors of tournaments.

RENNAE STUBBS: It feels a little bit too much like an exhibition when it's like that. It's like, "Okay, we've run out of time, let's finish it with a tiebreak."

TODD WOODBRIDGE: That's the reason for the men's tour experimenting. If that is the feedback, it will be tossed quickly.

RENNAE STUBBS: What feels better or is more important?

RENNAE STUBBS: Women's doubles. Sorry, Todd. Let's put it this way, would you have given up your mixed title if you had been in the final in doubles? I think a Grand Slam title is a Grand Slam title. Sorry, mate, this is the truth. A Grand Slam title is a Grand Slam title. We're in the semifinals tomorrow. I would definitely like to win a doubles title here.

RENNAE STUBBS: No. Well, if you just go on the dollars, women's doubles is worth a lot more. Like I said, a Grand Slam title is a Grand Slam title. I mean, Todd would agree, too. A doubles title, you know, it definitely means a little more to you than a mixed title. A mixed title is always special, as well, especially when it's with your friend.

RENNAE STUBBS: Do I be honest? Honestly, I think the consensus is that it's silly actually. I think it degrades the women's final actually.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Has anyone seen Boris?

RENNAE STUBBS: I think it degrades the women's final. "The women are done, let's bring out the great champions of the past." I really haven't talked about it a lot, but when we had brought it up in the locker room, which has only been once that I can remember in the last two weeks, with my friends, it's just ridiculous. Why do they need to go out there and play after that? It's the women's singles final. That should be enough as it is. Who needs to have an old boys club go out there and act? You know, for me it degrades the final.

RENNAE STUBBS: I do.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Very much so.

RENNAE STUBBS: I understand that tennis is entertainment. You see the bands, everything playing out here. I think it's great that they're trying to keep the fans interested in other things, keep them interested in tennis, make tennis fun to come to, a Grand Slam. If they paid $50 for a ticket, they can go and do things. I think that's great. But they still have to understand that it's about the titles and it's about the tennis. You know, stop thinking that they need to throw in exhibitions and understand that these people that come to watch tennis are actually very enthusiastic about tennis, the pure part of the game. I think last night's match was a great exhibition of that.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: I will be.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Absolutely. I mean, my position is there is a chance I won't play, there's a chance I'll play with Wayne, there's a chance I'll play with Lleyton. That's not really going to be decided until the last minute because of the first day. I think it will depend solely on the length of matches of Pat and Lleyton, if their bodies are in shape, all that sort of stuff, whether I will play or not. I don't take it in a bad way. It's because Pat and I play the same side. The combination hasn't been found that really gels perfect yet. But I'm pretty sure I'll be in the four. Regardless if I'm not in the four, I'm on my way there. I'm going down.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: It will be an 11th-hour decision. It will come down to the first day's play, if they're short matches or long matches, things like that. I think we might play a set or two and see how perhaps Lleyton and I play together in practice. We've got a few choices.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Not definitely. If Pat played, he'd play with Lleyton. I think they'd play those two together. I don't think they would put Wayne in with Pat. I think they'd keep the pair that won in Brazil. Those two together are class players.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: I haven't thought of it that way. I'd like him to give me another present, too (laughter). You know, I keep getting in his ear in the locker room about keep on playing. For me, I can't understand . I can understand taking a break. I don't understand why he would quit when he's in his prime, hasn't won Wimbledon yet, and still has one of the best chances of anyone out there to win Wimbledon. For me, I'd be disappointed if he left and didn't give that a real shot. I think later on, he'd be disappointed he didn't give it a chance. As well as what your question was about the Davis Cup, I'd be trying to keep him playing more.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: He just sort of looks at me. He looks at me like he's heard it before.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Very much so. Obviously, playing with Bjorkman all year, I have a little bit of inside knowledge of how their team is, what their team is feeling like, their players' confidence. I know they were not real confident about the grass. They got an extremely big lift once we were back on the hard court Rebound Ace. It really brought Enqvist into the team. Enqvist was a 50/50 if he was going to go to Australia. When you bring a player of his quality back in, then it raises their chances.

RENNAE STUBBS: Oh, it's a bit of both. It makes it easier because I know pretty much what her tendencies are, her shots. But it makes it difficult because, you know, we also have to play a semifinal tomorrow. You don't want to tick each other off, you know, be vicious with any shots, act stupid out there. Let's hope we pull together tomorrow and play well tomorrow. I think we both played pretty well tonight. Hopefully that will go into tomorrow's match.

RENNAE STUBBS: We were just saying we were almost going to sack each other.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: After Wimbledon, we were nearly going to play with someone else. Probably.

RENNAE STUBBS: We'll see. It gets to the point that the sign-in is an hour away, we say, "Are we going to play again?"

TODD WOODBRIDGE: No, I don't think so.

RENNAE STUBBS: Sometimes he yells at me, but I understand it's all for my good.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: She is like a wife sometimes. She doesn't do anything you tell her.

RENNAE STUBBS: But then he doesn't do stuff I want him to do. I think we just give up and play. I think we did that better this week.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: Yeah, I don't understand it really. I think it's The Open championship. Spotlight should be on The Open winners. Should be on the men, the women. I think those events are for another time. They're not for this occasion.

RENNAE STUBBS: Certainly not after.

TODD WOODBRIDGE: I hear a whisper that Boris is not here yet. It may be an iffy proposition at this stage.