Australian Todd Woodbridge won his 12th Grand Slam title when he teamed with new Swedish partner Jonas Bjorkman to win the Australian Open men's doubles final in Melbourne today.
Fourth seeds Bjorkman and Woodbridge defeated number 14 seeds Byron Black of Zimbabwe and David Prinosil of Germany 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in just under three hours.
It was the first time Woodbridge had linked up with Bjorkman at a Grand Slam since the retirement of long-time doubles partner and fellow Australian Mark Woodforde after the Sydney Olympics.
"I hadn't thought of retiring with Mark because I'm still only 29 and I still feel like I have majors in me, like one today, and I feel I have some more, so that was the driving force of not going with Mark," said Woodbridge.
"Jonas is bringing me out of my shell a bit. He's a lot of fun and I enjoy playing with him because he gives 110 per cent and that was one of the things that was important to me."
Bjorkman, who has now won three Australian Open doubles titles - the others with Dutchman Jacco Eltingh and Australian Pat Rafter - said it was a great opportunity to partner Woodbridge.
-AFP