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Dublin: 11 °C Thursday 20 June, 2013

Game, Set and Match – We found love in a sporty place

Vijay Singh never let Christmas stop his golfing practice but these couples surely have better Valentine’s plans.

Image: PA images

THE EARLY MORNINGS, sweat-inducing exercise, back-breaking commitment – nobody knows a sports-person’s troubles. Maybe that is why so many of them chose to couple up.

Peter Crouch may have delivered the best ever self-deprecating jibe when he admitted his footballing career saved him from a life of virginity but there was a glimmer of truth in his words.

Sometimes, however, sports stars grow weary of partnerships with supermodels, actors and ordinary folk; choosing to look closer to home, or the nearest sporting arena.

St. Valentine’s Day has thankfully fallen on a Tuesday this year and the sporting calendar is uncluttered.

Sports couples the world over may get the best seats in the finest restaurants but few would envy a romantic meal of boiled vegetables, protein-high finger food and isotonic drinks.

The union Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki has bred a catchy Wozzilroy moniker for the pair and they regularly tweet words of support and cheerleading from afar.

The prize for most gratingly perfect athletic duo surely must go to Australian golfer Adam Scott and his tennis playing girlfriend Ana Ivanovic.

A no-holes-barred doubles match must surely be in the offing this year before the last summer sun has set – with golf clubs substituted for tennis rackets – it is what pay-per-view was invited for.

Game, Set and Match – We found love in a sporty place
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  • Dan Carter and Honor Dillon

    An All Black married to a Blackstick. The New Zealand out-half sought comfort in the arms of his hockey player wife, Honor Dillon, after injury ruled him out of the final stages of the Rugby World Cup.
  • Don Drysdale and Ann Meyers

    Drysdale is a Baseball Hall of Famer and L.A Dodgers legend. Meyers was an outstanding basketball player in the 1970s and 80s and was the first woman to ever be drafted by an NBA team when the Indiana Pacers signed her up as a free agent in 1979.
  • Maria Sharapova and Sasha Vujacic

    He may not be at the stratospheric level as his L.A Lakers team-mate, Kobe Bryant but the Slovenian basketball star has done enough to capture the heart of three-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova.
  • Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra

    The former Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs slugger was famous for a pre-batting routine of shirt-tugs and helmet adjustments. He also smote many a home run. Hamm was twice named the FIFA Women's Player of the Year and lead Team U.S.A to gold at the 2004 Olympics.
  • Nancy Lopez and Ray Knight

    Californian golfer Lopez won three major titles and captained the United States to Solheim Cup success in 2005. She married Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets third-baseman Ray Knight and the couple have three children together. Knight, who who a 1986 World Series with the Mets, finds time to act as a baseball analyst while his wife is making weekend bunker recoveries
  • Shoaib Malik and Sania Mizra

    At the height of their powers, Malik was the captain of the Pakistan cricket team and Mizra was a tournament winner on the Women's Tennis Association tour and ranked 27th in the world. India's most famous tennis star earned more than €1.5 million in her career.
  • Adam Scott and Ana Ivanovic

    The Serbian tennis player and Australian golfer followed the fine example of McIlroy and Wozniacki when they began dating in late 2011. Scott's best finish in a golfing major was 2nd place at last year's Masters, while Ivanovic won the French Open in 2008 and is a former World Number 1.
  • Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi

    They couple have 30 Grand Slam titles to their name, have two children together and have set up separate charities since retiring. The next-door neighbours have yet to take them up on the 'friendly doubles challenge' any Sunday they're free.
  • Caroline Wozniacki and Rory McIlroy

    Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki - He has a major golf title to his name but is only the World's Number 2. She was World Number 1 for the majority of 2011 but has yet to win a major tennis title. Underachievers would be too harsh a word.
  • One(s) that got away - Chris Evert and Greg Norman, Jimmy Connors, Andy Mill and John Lloyd

    Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors, and John Lloyd, and Andy Mill, and Greg Norman - Former World Number 1 tennis star Evert was married to a tennis player (Lloyd), ski champion (Mill), and golfer (Norman). She was due to marry Jimmy Connors in 1974 but the wedding was called off.

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