His singles world ranking might have plummeted to an unfashionable 1 060, but former South African number one Wesley Moodie is currently the hottest property on the international tennis doubles circuit as he bids to regain the Wimbledon title he won in 2005.
Thirty-year-old Moodie has just placed the cherry on the cake of a remarkable three-tournament streak in which he reached the men’s doubles final at the French and Madrid Opens — and then finally hit the jackpot this past weekend by winning the title at the Queens tournament in London in partnership with Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny.
The Moodie-Youzhny combination, playing together for the first time, beat Brazilians Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa 6-4, 4-6, 10-6 in a closely-contested battle dominated by big serves.
It has taken Moodie’s tournament earnings to approximately R18-million — who said there was no money in doubles? — and elevated
him to an impressive world doubles ranking of 11th.
And emphasising the merit of Moodie’s hot streak is the fact his successful European run in Paris, London and Madrid was performed with three different partners.
Now he is going to Wimbledon in a bid to continue his impressive form with 38 year-old Dick Norman, with whom he reached the final of the French Open doubles.
Both are awesome servers and although Norman is a little long in the tooth for Wimbledon’s pinnacle level at the age of 38, the South African-Belgian duo cannot be ruled out of contention.
No one expected Moodie to end up a Wimbledon winner in 2005 after making progress through the qualifying rounds — and this time, at least, he looks better-placed to finish in the big money — if not winning the tournament in his own right.
At the same time, Moodie’s current form suggests his recall for the crucial Davis Cup World Group play-off against India in September after a year’s unavailability appears imperative — particularly in view of India’s formidable doubles pairing of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi. — Sapa