Historic year forecast in Wimbledon men's doubles

JAKARTA (JP): History will be made in the Wimbledon men's doubles competition if Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis of the Netherlands confirm their top seeding and take the title.

The Dutch duo need the Wimbledon crown to complete a non- calendar year Grand Slam, after winning championships in Australia, France, Britain and the U.S.

Wimbledon starts tomorrow.

The win would also solidify their top position in the ATP Tour World Doubles Rankings and put them firmly on track for a place in the ATP Tour World Doubles Championship in Jakarta this November.

The last pair to achieve the Grand Slam in men's doubles was John Newcombe and Tony Roche of Australia in the 1960s, when tennis was restricted to amateur players only. The so-called Open era of professional tennis began in 1968.

"Eltingh and Haarhuis are so strong because they do everything well," says Russell Barlow, Consultant for the ATP Tour World Doubles Championship here. "They are powerful, they serve hard, return well, and volley efficiently."

Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge of Australia will try to spoil the Dutchmen's plans. The pair, known as "the Woodies", have won Wimbledon the last two years and are looking for a hat- trick of Wimbledon trophies. They took a tough five-set victory over Eltingh and Haarhuis in the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year.

Newcombe and Roche were the last team to take three consecutive titles at Wimbledon in 1968-70.

Barlow says The Woodies make up for a lack of power with superb volleying. "The Woodies are so tough on grass because they are great returners and they have an excellent touch on volley."

"Mark is one of the best volleyers on the ATP Tour and Todd is probably the best strategist. They are both fluid serve-and- volleyers."

The Canadian-American pair of Grant Connell and Patrick Galbraith, the runners up to the Woodies in both 1993 and 1994, should not be discounted. Barlow adds. "They are both lefties and can swing the serve out wide, which is very difficult for their opponents. Their biggest weakness is that they are not as good at returning serves as several other pairs."

Several other pairs have a chance of causing upsets, including 1994 ATP Tour World Doubles Champions Jan Apell and Jonas Bjorkman. "They have not had a very good year so far, but they did reach the Italian Open final and were the finalists at Queen's last week. They always play well on grass," Barlow warns.

Wimbledon is a crucial event for the top teams, which need to earn enough ranking points to qualify for the ATP Tour World Doubles Championship. The US$1.3 million tournament will be held from Nov.21-26 at Jakarta's Senayan Stadium for the second consecutive year. (amd)