Tennis at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's doubles
Woodbridge and Woodforde won Australia's first official men's doubles gold.
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The men's doubles tennis event at the 1996 Summer Olympics was won by Australia's Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, who defeated Great Britain's Neil Broad and Tim Henman in the final. The victory was the fourth component of the career Golden Slam for the Australian pair, who would later complete the achievement by winning the French Open. It marked Australia's first official medal in the event, while Great Britain earned its first men's doubles medal since 1924.
Quick Facts
- Score
- 6–4, 6–4, 6–2
Facts from the source article.
Background
This was the 10th appearance of men's doubles tennis at the Summer Olympics, having been held at every Games where tennis was on the program from 1896 to 1924 and from 1988 onward, with a demonstration event in 1968. It was the first Olympics for the pairing of Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde; Woodbridge had previously played with John Fitzgerald in 1992.
The Australians had won four consecutive Wimbledon titles and were heavy favorites. Returning competitors included 1992 silver medalist Wayne Ferreira of South Africa, now paired with Ellis Ferreira, and 1992 bronze medalist Javier Frana of Argentina, now partnered with Luis Lobo. Chinese Taipei, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, the Ivory Coast, Slovakia, and Venezuela made their debut in the event, while Great Britain made its eighth appearance, the most of any nation.
Did You Know?
- The bronze-medal match was reintroduced after not being held in 1988 or 1992.
- All matches except the final were best-of-three sets; the final remained best-of-five.
- The pair from Uzbekistan did not start the tournament.
More in Men's Doubles Tennis at the Summer Olympics
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Tennis at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's doubles (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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