It has been tried before with limited success.
But Caroline Wozniacki is confident a relationship between an elite tennis player and a top-ranked golfer might will be a lasting one and might even help her achieve her goal of a major championship win.
Wozniacki, a former world no.1, announced her engagement to star golfer Rory McIlroy late last year and on Tuesday celebrated a first-round win at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
The victory put the Danish player on the path to the grand slam win that has eluded her, despite having twice held the top spot in year-end rankings.
The Wozniacki-McIlroy union isn’t the first between high-profile golfers and tennis players.
Australia’s Adam Scott and another No.1 tennis star, Ana Ivanovic, shared a cross-sport relationship, as did Sergio Garcia and Martina Hingis.
But the pressures of incompatible playing schedules torpedoed both romances.
Wozniacki, however, is happily confident she and her intended can manage.
“We always try and make our schedules fit and we’ve done that pretty well so far,” she said after her first-round win at the Open.
“So I don’t see why it’s not going to work for another how many years I want to play.”
Wozniacki said a new, off-court calmness had accompanied the decision by she and McIlroy to move in together.
“Just having that calmness off the court and knowing what we want, it gives us even more time to focus on our careers.”
Wozniacki, the 10th seed, beat Spain’s Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-0 6-2 on a Melbourne day on which the temperature reached 42 degrees by lunchtime, the rooves above the main courts stayed open and players watched their water bottles melting.
For Wozniacki, thoughts were of wedded bliss and the possibility of another shot at a major title.
“I think I’m in a very good place in my life right now, on the court and off the court,” she said.
“I know what I want. I want to improve all the time. I want to be the best.
“For me right now I try to focus on the grand slams. That’s what I’m missing on my resume, so that’s obviously what I would like to achieve.”.
It would also give her something in common with a husband who has won two golf majors.
