The 56-year-old admitted things have been “up and down” since he received the shock diagnosis last Tuesday, with his neurologist giving him months to live. 

There has since been an outpouring of support for Doohan, both from within the Hunter and the broader tennis community. Pat Cash, Wally Masur and John Fitzgerald have been among those to send messages of support from Australia and abroad. 

Doohan spoke to the Newcastle Herald on Sunday from a pub near the Sydney hospital where he will begin treatment on Monday. 

He was accompanied by family members so he could watch his beloved Newcastle Knights take on the Panthers. 

“They are very powerful drugs to try and settle down my immune system, which happens to be in overdrive,” he said. 

“I'm just hoping to get some strength back, because at the moment my body is very weak. A little bit of quality time would be good. I won’t ask for too much”. 

Doohan – better known as the “Becker Wrecker” – pulled off one of the most memorable upsets in tennis history with his defeat of two-time defending champion Boris Becker at Wimbledon in 1987. 

By doing so he helped clear the way for Pat Cash to claim eventual victory in the tournament. 

“I’ll have to remind him to send me the royalty cheque in the mail,” he joked. 

Doohan counts his undefeated Davis Cup record and his singles win over Andre Agassi among other career highlights. 

He reached a career-high world ranking of 43 in singles and 15 in doubles, winning six ATP titles. 

Will O’Neil, who runs the Cessnock Tennis Centre, has been close friends with Doohan for decades and said the news had left him “completely and utterly gutted”. 

He said he was “clinging” to hope that the experimental drug treatment would be a success. 

“Peter is a friend and a mentor and someone I’ve looked up to since I was 10 years old,” he said.

“He’s an absolute gentleman and a real stalwart for Newcastle. A finer example of a gentleman you couldn’t find.” 

Motor neurone disease is terminal disease where people progressively lose use of their limbs and their ability to move, speak, breathe and swallow.  The mind and senses usually remain intact. 

There is no known cause or cure for the disease, which has an average life expectancy of two-and-a-half years. 

More than 2000 people have the disease in Australia, about 60 per cent male and 40 per cent female. 

Mr O’Neil was confident Doohan would fight his battle with the same tenacity that earned him the nickname ‘The Bear’ on the court. 

“That’s why I’m still giving him a chance, I know how much of a fighter he is,” he said. 

“You’d think you had the match and then you’d lose and go ‘I don’t know how the hell that happened, but it did.’” 

Doohan spent his formative years at Merewether High School, playing tennis at District Park in Broadmeadow on weekends under the guidance of coach Frank Brent. 

After turning professional, he spent 20 years playing and coaching in the United States. He was based in Arkansas, where his sons John and Hunter still live. 

Doohan returned to Nelson Bay in 2009 and coached up until June last year. Since becoming unwell, he has been spending much of his time with his mother, who lives in Hamilton South. 

Reflecting on his career, he said one of the most rewarding aspects has been the close bonds forged with many of his former students and their parents. 

“I get a lot of satisfaction from the way those students grow and learn life lessons through sport,” he said. 

Tennis taught children integrity, he added, because unlike other sports they were forced to make line calls against themselves. 

“Things like perseverance, persistence, commitment and hard work. We don’t expect them all to be Wimbledon champions. The reason we play sport is because of the things they learn for life.”  

Doohan admitted he is passionate about his home town, to “the point of being overzealous”. 

“I love the Knights,” he said. “I flew back from the US in 2001 to watch them win the premiership.” 

He said his proudest moment as a Novocastrian was when his Wimbledon win was ranked number four in the Herald’s top 101 significant moments in Hunter history. 

Mr O’Neil described Doohan as a “true mate” and a very caring dad to his two boys. 

“The amazing part about Pete is he will just always go out of his way to help you.”. 

Newcastle Herald