Mark Woodforde has revealed how seeing John Peers and Matt Ebden become the new Olympic golden boys of Australian tennis left him tearful at Roland Garros.
Woodforde, one half of the ‘Woodies’ team along with Todd Woodbridge who were the only Australian Olympic tennis winners ever 28 years ago in Atlanta, told AAP he felt like he had struck gold himself again as he watched the veteran doubles pair triumph on Saturday.
And though he had to remain strictly neutral as an International Tennis Federation vice-president, Woodforde couldn’t help but feel secretly thrilled that, when asked to be part of the medal ceremony party, it should be another Aussie duo he ended up handing victory gifts to on the podium.
Peers and Ebden, the 36-year-old pals who live a street apart in Perth, explained after their nail-biting gold-medal match win over Americans Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek how humbled they felt to join ‘the Woodies’.
They reckoned the old doubles greats had been a constant source of help and inspiration. ‘They paved the way and set the bar so high, it’s just disbelief I’m in the same category. For me. It’s just an absolute honour to be mentioned in the same breath,’ said Peers.
But Woodforde, now 58, felt the honour was all his. ‘I feel like I’m on top of the world, I feel like I’ve won, watching that,’ explained the 17-time grand slam doubles winner.
‘Todd and I, we totally understand the ride Matt and John have had to go through this week. It’s not easy, it’s survival. But this is just icing on the cake to win such a close, tense match, then actually stand on that dais and watch your flag go up.
‘I saw them downstairs just before we walked on to do the ceremony. I actually kind of teared up, I welled up.
Australia claimed its first gold medal in men’s doubles since 1996 with Matt Ebden and John Peers winning a terrific encounter
Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde pictured winning gold in Atlanta
‘Rajiv and Austin were there, so I’m trying to be respectful for them, because it’s heartbreak for the guys coming in second, but it was super emotional for me.
‘I’m so glad that for Todd and I, we’ve now got other gold medallists so that we can celebrate the Olympic fever.
‘At the ceremony, by the time I got to Matt and John, I had a lump in my throat. What eventually ended up coming out was me saying, ‘this is so absolutely memorable’.’
Meanwhile, as they prepared for a ‘wild’ night of celebration, Ebden and Peers were asked whether they might now play together more often.
‘He just needs to ask,’ laughed Peers, who has had a succession of different playing partners down the years, while Ebden recently got to No.1 in the world alongside his regular partner, India’s seemingly ageless 44-year-old Rohan Bopanna.
‘It’s definitely possible,’ said Ebden, revealing they had previously pondered becoming a team before.
‘Logistically it hasn’t worked out yet, but if they ever need us for Davis Cup or there’s ever tournaments where we were each looking for a partner, we know we play really well together.’
