Speaker 1: We're talking famous names, and the reason being we were
Speaker 1: told Todd Woodbridge is coming in. However it wasn't the
Speaker 1: Todd Woodbridge we expect.
Speaker 2: This is actually my twenty first Australian Open. I started
Speaker 2: as a ball kid in two thousand and five. He's
Speaker 2: outside Woodbridge and there are two Todd Woodbridges here and
Speaker 2: can often be confused. He calls me the younger, better
Speaker 2: looking version, but I don't know about that.
Speaker 1: Fresh from the set of Tipping Point he joined us.
Speaker 3: Now top wood Bridge.
Speaker 4: Wow, this is confusing for us Todd Woodbridge today.
Speaker 3: Guys.
Speaker 2: Thanks having me not to be confused with twenty two
Speaker 2: times Grand Slam champion. But here I am.
Speaker 5: Yeah. So were you named after Todd wood Are you
Speaker 5: related to Todd Woodbridge? Were you named after him or
Speaker 5: you just happened to have the name Todd Woodbridge?
Speaker 3: Not related?
Speaker 2: I did look on Wikipedia one of his first Grand
Speaker 2: Slam in ninety one and I was born in ninety one.
Speaker 3: So maybe your mom and.
Speaker 5: Dad about the horn for Todd or maybe his Grand
Speaker 5: Slam win is what got them in the mood exactly.
Speaker 3: Well, no comment on that, but you are a tennis
Speaker 3: Tennis is in the blood.
Speaker 6: As is the Australian Open explained to us what you
Speaker 6: do each and every January.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, I'm full time at Tennis Australia as a match
Speaker 2: operations lead, so I'm responsible for delivering the field of
Speaker 2: play and all aspects on that and yeah, everything that
Speaker 2: happens on the court to get the play ready for matches.
Speaker 3: Right, So I was in the condition of the court correct, Yeah, So.
Speaker 2: The court surface itself and then the court services teams
Speaker 2: which looks after the like the player services on court,
Speaker 2: the balls, the drinks and the thousand the ice.
Speaker 3: Now you met Todd many times. Yeah, yeah, because it's
Speaker 3: pretty funny.
Speaker 4: It's very funny.
Speaker 5: There's something fishy about the Australian Open because I remember
Speaker 5: working on the coverage and I met the guy who
Speaker 5: was called the Keeper of the Cups or something, so
Speaker 5: he looked after the trophies until they were presented to
Speaker 5: the winners, and I kid, you're not His name was Nadal.
Speaker 4: Yeah, really that was his first name. And I was like,
Speaker 4: that's funny. He's like, no, that's actually my name. I'm like, no,
Speaker 4: it's not. People say to you all the time, that's
Speaker 4: not your real name. Todd would Bridge.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's definitely been a few cases of you know,
Speaker 2: mistaken identity. I was once received like the players allowance
Speaker 2: in terms of the food, and that is that is
Speaker 2: thirteen year old Todd receiving players allowance of food. King
Speaker 2: of the kids, of the handing out big ms, handing
Speaker 2: out chocolate bars.
Speaker 4: They take it off. They let you have it.
Speaker 3: Now, they let me have it.
Speaker 2: The supervisors were in on it. They were getting free
Speaker 2: stuff too, so smart.
Speaker 6: Yeah, so there's a lot of I love what happens
Speaker 6: beneath the in the bowls of Melbourne Park or a secrets,
Speaker 6: you know, interaction with players, you know who are some
Speaker 6: of your favorites.
Speaker 2: Yeah, a little bit of interaction with players. Really love
Speaker 2: how relaxed these younger champions are coming up, like al
Speaker 2: KaAZ and the Sin are very relaxed. Tight obviously dealt
Speaker 2: with the champions of the past like Djokovic, Feder more
Speaker 2: your serious types. But I'm enjoying to see the younger
Speaker 2: generation how relaxed they are.
Speaker 1: I do love seeing footage online of when like the
Speaker 1: big A grade players are refused entricks, they don't have
Speaker 1: the pass.
Speaker 3: Sometimes the security don't know who they are.
Speaker 4: They're very strict.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Federer is here this year and usually he just
Speaker 2: walks in with his aura, so he doesn't need a past.
Speaker 3: That's nice. Yeah, and he was fine again this year. Fine,
Speaker 3: he's not playing Roger. I mean he still looked good
Speaker 3: out in court to.
Speaker 4: Be fair, Yeah, play he did that, didn't Yeah?
Speaker 3: I could I ask you a technical question about the
Speaker 3: courts here we go.
Speaker 6: So you hear on the commentary about how fast a
Speaker 6: court is or how slow it is at different times
Speaker 6: of the day.
Speaker 3: What is the science behind that.
Speaker 2: I'm not an expert, but it's all sorts of weather
Speaker 2: factors as well as the paint itself, the acrylic paint.
Speaker 3: So starting with the courts, they all painted the same way.
Speaker 4: They're meant to be the same to the outside.
Speaker 3: They meant to all be the same pace, all.
Speaker 2: Meant to be the same consistency, which is hard with
Speaker 2: indoor and outdoor courts. But typically the US Open is
Speaker 2: the fastest court on the tour, which is okay, we
Speaker 2: try to go, we go, try and go fast as well,
Speaker 2: but not as fast as US. But yeah, it's more
Speaker 2: in the paint, in the acrylics and how the weather
Speaker 2: plays in on that.
Speaker 5: So we have a day like the other day where
Speaker 5: it was forty five degrees here in Melbourne. How hot
Speaker 5: does it get on that court?
Speaker 2: We had a reading at seventy two degrees with one
Speaker 2: of the temperature.
Speaker 4: Games degrees that if you touched it.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah. Our message, get in fred sauna. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Our message one of my supervisors to bring a dozen
Speaker 2: eggs and we're going to egg and bacon off.
Speaker 3: That old onisode slow Cooks.
Speaker 4: You know what's funny.
Speaker 5: When I worked at the Australian Open on those really
Speaker 5: hot days, would always go, let's crack an egg and
Speaker 5: see if it cracks, and the Australian Open would be.
Speaker 4: Like, you're not allowed to do that. We were never
Speaker 4: allowed to.
Speaker 5: All the things they didn't want us to cover, They
Speaker 5: never wanted us to do the crack an egg and
Speaker 5: show people how hot it is.
Speaker 3: Two degrees of all.
Speaker 1: The things, as well as as painting the courts net measuring.
Speaker 1: You need to make sure it's the exact right height
Speaker 1: every court absolutely yep.
Speaker 3: What else? Water stocks water well.
Speaker 2: Part of my remit is the eliminating single use from
Speaker 2: the player environment. So I was part of the team
Speaker 2: that got rid of one hundred thousand plastic water bottles
Speaker 2: in one year, which is great.
Speaker 3: So now they're in the cap.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we ordered I think it was twenty twenty three
Speaker 2: we ordered ninety six thousand plastic water bottles, and then
Speaker 2: twenty twenty four we went to eight hundred.
Speaker 4: Wow. And so they're all on a straight open water bottles.
Speaker 3: Correct, all on AO refillable water.
Speaker 5: They got the old front greens down there or right,
Speaker 5: we deal with the water drops. But better I have
Speaker 5: a share in water drop.
Speaker 3: I think he does. He's got to share in a
Speaker 3: lot of things, including uniclo.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, I know he's Niclet.
Speaker 3: We're both models.
Speaker 4: Is he getting a clip of it when I buy
Speaker 4: a T shirt?
Speaker 1: You ever thought about rolling out of bubbler? Look at
Speaker 1: the old school days.
Speaker 4: They've got them.
Speaker 3: They've got them on center court for the players.
Speaker 2: Look we try and go a bit more professional. Right, Hey, hey,
Speaker 2: we got next year we will put it out there
Speaker 2: and see what lands.
Speaker 3: I'll play this bloody tape back next year. Okay, Todd,
Speaker 3: Now what's your favorite drop zone?
Speaker 4: Always drop zone for? Thanks Todd um?
Speaker 6: Yeah?
Speaker 3: Is that a question?
Speaker 6: Well?
Speaker 3: Is it a golf term? Because I think Todd still owes.
Speaker 2: Me around and at Royal Melbourne.
Speaker 3: Oh that's what I'm here to collect.
Speaker 1: Okay, really you guys make a little bit.
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, I think given all the references over the years,
Speaker 2: I think I think maybe he owes me one.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you deserve that.
Speaker 3: You know what will hit him up next time he's on.
Speaker 3: Appreciate it.
Speaker 4: You have a child, will you know the musty favorite
Speaker 4: tennis player?
Speaker 3: Look, definitely not a second.
Speaker 2: I know the pain it's caused me, so I wouldn't
Speaker 2: put my child.
Speaker 1: Todd Woodbridge Junior joining us on the end this morning. Hey,
Speaker 1: cheers are coming in, Todd.
Speaker 3: I appreciate it. Thanks for time. Chase and Lauren.
Speaker 5: Lauren wake up feeling good following them on the socials