Doubles his delight

Not only is his return to professional tennis not unexpected, it has also presents the tennis fraternity an unique opportunity to watch the doubles legend play against Jonas Bjorkman, the best in the world at the moment, writes Bikash Mohapatra.

“The best doubles partnership in the world is John McEnroe and anybody else,” said the modest former American Peter Fleming when asked about the best doubles combination in the world.

He wasn’t wrong. John McEnroe, besides being a superlative singles player, was an equally good, if not better doubles player. His doubles record was spectacular. Ranked No. 1 in the world for a record 257 weeks, the American won 57 doubles titles, including four at the All England Club and three at Flushing Meadows.

The period in which the American duo blossomed also coincided with the rise of a player, who made a name for himself in doubles —- a player who came out of the shadows of McEnroe and establish himself in tennis folklore.

Anders Jarryd was one of the many players to emerge from the Scandinavian country in the post-Borg era.

Born in sleepy town of Lidkoping on July 13, 1961, little Jarryd did what many other kids in Sweden did during that period — take to tennis. The racquet sport was booming big time and it took Jarryd little time to get inspired by the biggest phenomenon to have hit Sweden — Borg.

His life revolved around the sport and his coach Jon-Anders Sjorgen realised this early and put more emphasis on it, something which helped the Swede in the long run.
Jarryd made his professional debut in 1980 and in less than a year he had two doubles titles — Linz and Barcelona — in his kitty. A couple of years later, the genial Swede made his first dent on the big stage, teaming up with compatriot Hans Simonsson to win the French Open doubles title. But like fast bowlers hunt in pairs, a doubles combination also prospers when both the players complement each other perfectly.

Jarryd’s first real partnership of note was with fellow Swede Stefan Edberg. Both had contrasting styles of play and that worked in their favour. The combination made the first impression by making it to the US Open final in 1984 and later in the year, shocked the tennis fraternity by upsetting the might of McEnroe and Fleming in the Davis Cup final in Gothenburg.

The pair attained the No.1 ranking in August 1985. However, two consecutive world titles (WCT Masters Doubles in 1985 and 1986) and two major victories —- the Australian Open and US Open, both in 1987 — ensured the combination being named the ATP doubles team of the year in 1987.

However, Edberg’s priority towards singles meant the partnership couldn’t blossom any further and Jarryd joined hands with Australian journeyman John Fitzgerald in what was an equally successful combination. The pair won three straight Grand Slam titles in 1991 — the French, the All England and The US — and the world title to boot. But thereafter, their success was sporadic. Overall, Jarryd alone won 59 doubles titles, including eight majors, the highest by any Swede till Jonas Bjorkman won his ninth at the French Open this year.

His doubles achievements aside, the Swede also was a decent singles player and was once ranked as high as No.5. He had eight singles titles to his credit, the most significant one coming at the World Championship of Tennis (WCT) in Dallas, at the expense of Boris Becker. Jarryd has been a regular at the senior tour ever since his retirement from the pro tour in 1996. And his decision to come back in the doubles competition in Bastad is not really surprising.

Moreover, for Jarryd, it’s an opportunity to face Jonas Bjorkman, his compatriot who has taken over the mantle of the world’s best doubles player.

Doubles is an art and Jarryd is one of the few who actually understood this. That he is back, therefore, is really for the better.

A few things you must know about Jarryd

• Date of birth: July 13, 1961
• Singles titles: 8
• Grand Slams: 8
• Last played on ATP Tour: 1996
• Favourite film: The Lord of the Rings
• Favourite book: The Da Vinci Code 
• Favourite song: Born to Run (Bruce Springsteen)
• Favourite meal: Italian Dishes
• Favourite luxury items: Toothbrush, contact lenses and tennis rackets