(8/6/06) Doubles or Nothing
Twins Bob and Mike Bryan Have Reached the Top of Their Game, Together

By Linton Weeks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 5, 2006; C01

After coming from behind to win a tennis match at Wimbledon last month, Mike Bryan punched his brother Bob in the nose.

The Bryans -- 28-year-old California identical twins who are the top-ranked professional doubles team in the world -- were down two sets to one, and everything one brother said to the other was being misinterpreted. "We just stopped talking," says left-hander Bob, who is an inch taller, 10 pounds heavier and two minutes younger than right-hander Mike. They know each other well enough to know when to shut up. Even after the victory, they didn't speak.

On the way to their living quarters in London, they were sitting in the back seat of the car and "Bob just turns and takes a punch at my arm," Mike says.

Then Mike hits Bob in the face.

They go at it. The car is rocking, they say. The driver doesn't know what is going on.

Back in their rooms, the brawl rolls on. "Mike kung-fu kicks me in the stomach," Bob says. "Then I break his guitar."

"Five minutes later," Mike says, "we're sitting down to dinner as if nothing has happened."

The Bryan brothers know how to fight. And they know how to win.

Besides taking home the Wimbledon championship trophy this year, they were winners at the Australian Open and runners-up in the French Open at Roland Garros. They have helped the United States reach the Davis Cup semifinals; the team plays Russia next month. And the Bryans -- who will play in the semifinals today after defeating Jim Thomas and Rockville's Paul Goldstein last night before a sellout crowd -- hope to win the Legg Mason tournament here this weekend (as they did last year) and to defend their U.S. Open title later this month.

In their eight years as pros, they have won 30 doubles titles and are the first team in more than 50 years to have reached the finals of seven Grand Slam tournaments in a row.

Being No. 1 in professional doubles these days is a little like being the best steak-griller at a vegan camp. Tennis doesn't have many friends, and doubles is its homely cousin from out of town. There is not a lot of prize money or sex appeal in doubles, which is surprising, given that it is the game most veteran players can identify with. It has swift action, long points, devilish angle shots and lots of opportunity for physical and mental fireworks and derring-do. It has been said that singles is checkers; doubles is chess.

But most fans watch only singles. There is something so un-contemporary America about doubles. This country promotes individualism, self-reliance, independence. Not complement, consideration, dependence. This is a "your fault" society, not a "my bad" one.

The Bryans possess what their father refers to as the "doubles personality." On a recent sweltering Washington afternoon, Wayne Bryan is sitting in the shade beside Practice Court 1 at the FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park, watching Mike and Bob go through a wringing-wet workout. "I used to tell the boys, 'You don't have to get along on the doubles court . . . unless you want to win."

He's a gravelly-voiced, sun-scorched coach type, known on the pro tennis circuit as one of the game's most vocal promoters. He's wearing an orange-and-white shirt and dark shorts and he might as well have a whistle around his neck. He's taking a break from giving clinics to amateurs.

On the court, his sons hit long rallies. Dark hair, dark eyes, in shape. Their ground strokes are eerily similar; they hit the ball arclessly low so that it just clears the net cord. It's like watching one Bryan hit against a mirror. Wayne makes wisecracks from the sideline, but the boys pay zero attention.

Eventually they play some points against a couple of left-handed sparring partners -- their coach, David MacPherson, and one of their idols, Rick Leach, who used to be a No. 1 doubles player in the world. They met Leach when they were 10. He was going out to play his first Davis Cup doubles match. The Bryans told Leach they had just won a junior tournament in Long Beach, Calif. Leach told them he had won the same tournament when he was their age. Wayne believes that that moment was seminal in the Bryans' development.

"It seemed so simple to the boys," Wayne says, laughing. "You win Long Beach at 10; next thing you know, you're playing Davis Cup."

In a way, it was that simple. With a mountain of tough work and sacrifice in between. And setting aside of ego -- being the kind of person who knows when to step forward, when to stay back and support his partner no matter what happens.

Only a handful of players throughout history have been great singles players and great doubles players -- Althea Gibson, John Newcombe, Tony Roche, Arthur Ashe, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova are among them.

Pete Sampras, Wayne Bryan says, did not have a doubles personality. Nor did Bjorn Borg. Oddly enough, temperamental John McEnroe, who has an ego the size of Manhattan, was able to play both beautifully.

Anna Kournikova, Wayne says, has a doubles personality. But she has been pushed to be a rock star singles player. Wayne knows because he coaches the Sacramento Capitals in professional team tennis and she is an occasional marquee player for his team. "I have watched her. She wants to play doubles."

He says, "We misunderstood her. Put her on a doubles court and she comes alive."

She has all the attributes of a great doubles player, he says. Good volleys, strong returns, and "she's a good poacher" -- knowing just when to invade her partner's territory to make a shot.

She has a great court sense of where her partner is and her opponent is not. "Doubles," he says, "has lots of angles to it."

You can be a great singles player with certain raw gifts -- a psycho-killer serve, a nuclear forehand, the stamina of a government mule. In doubles, you need all those skills and more.

"There are singles players who can't volley," Wayne says. If you can't volley, you'll never be a great doubles player.
Unequal Pay

It's hard to be a pro doubles player. The system works against you. Most mid-level tournaments, like the ones in Washington, Indianapolis and Los Angeles, hold their singles qualifying rounds on Saturday and Sunday, which usually overlap with the doubles finals of the previous week's event. So if you do well in doubles, you cannot qualify in the next singles contest. Most pros don't even bother with the doubles.

"A lot of guys will deef to get to the next qualies," says Wayne, using shorthand for default and qualifying rounds.

The Association of Tennis Professionals, says its vice president, Gayle David Bradshaw, is trying to pump life into doubles. It has changed the scoring to shorten the matches for TV. A financial organization has pledged $1 million a year for the next three as a sponsor.

And the ATP is encouraging more marquee singles players to participate. But for most players, the money is piddling. The Legg Mason Classic singles player receives $3,075 if he loses in the first round and $74,250 if he wins the championship. The doubles player takes home $1,000 if he loses in the first round and $14,750 if he wins the whole thing. Grand Slam tournaments -- Wimbledon, the Australian Open, the French Open and the U.S. Open -- pay much more.

As the Bryans have become the doubles darlings of tennis, they have moved into a higher echelon. So far this year they have made about $1.2 million in prize money and they will probably pick up another $2 million in endorsements. According to their agent, John Tobias, they are paid between $30,000 and $50,000 in appearance money just to show up at many tournaments and exhibitions.

Most players are not so blessed. "Why would singles players want to play doubles?" says Leach. "The money is less than 20 percent. You have to have passion."

And you often have to make a choice in the way you train and in the way you think. "Bob Bryan could be in the top 20 in singles," says guru and former player Brad Gilbert. "He gave it all up to play doubles with his brother. They obviously have great love for each other."

You need that, he says, to be good at doubles. Gilbert adds, "When I played doubles, I was practicing for singles."

Other players feel the same way. The Bryans' friend Andy Roddick told them they should both be singles players.

But influenced by their father and by other brothers teams such as Tom and Tim Gullikson and Murphy and Luke Jensen, the Bryans decided eight years ago to turn pro and, eventually, to focus on becoming No. 1 in the world as a team.

"It's very challenging to get family members to play together," says Jim Loehr, a sports psychologist at the Human Performance Institute in Orlando who worked with the Gullikson twins. "Team dynamics require an extraordinary level of positive support."

The two best players in the world don't always play well as a team. "Normally the frustration and jealousy that can spark sibling rivalry are amplified in competitive tennis," Loehr says.
Joining Forces

The Bryan brothers sit side by side in their suite at the Key Bridge Marriott on the morning of their first round match, eating the same breakfast -- eggs, bacon, hash browns and grits. Mike is wearing a red T-shirt and dark shorts. Bob is still in his white Marriott robe.

"I think my parents wanted a girl," Mike says. "They got two boys instead." Wayne and Kathy Bryan, owned and managed Cabrillo Racquet Club in Camarillo, Calif. The boys have been playing tennis since they were 2. Throughout their childhood they were both highly ranked junior players. Bob was the No. 1 18-and-under singles player in the United States in 1995. Mike was No. 3. They went to Stanford University in 1997 and 1998 and led the Cardinal to the NCAA team championship both years. In 1998 Bob won the individual NCAA tournament, defeating teammate Paul Goldstein of Rockville. No surprise that Mike and Bob also won the NCAA doubles championship that year. Then they turned pro.

Though Bob had victories over powerhouses such as Mardy Fish, Taylor Dent and Tim Henman, his highest ATP ranking in singles was 116 in 2000; his career singles record is 18-38. Mike reached 246 in the singles rankings in 2000; his career record is 5-9. Together the brothers' career doubles record is 46-9. They turned their full attention to doubles. They play nearly every week of the year and they travel all over the world.

Wayne goes with the guys sometimes. Kathy almost never does. She was a pro player, once ranked among the top in U.S. singles and doubles (as Kathy Blake). "We don't talk tennis with Mom," Mike says. "She's done all this before." They say it's hard for her to watch them because of her nerves.

"Dad gets all the credit for being our coach," Mike says. "But Mom put in all the daily work, feeding us balls, making our meals."

The Bryans say their parents never cared about winning or losing. But they did want their sons to play hard and show good sportsmanship.

Mike has a temper; Bob doesn't. Bob says, "Mike's been yanked off the court twice because he lost his temper."

Bob: "I'm a little more relaxed. I'm a little more creative. I get lost in my piano."

Mike: "I'm more organized. On time."

Bob: "He's a thinker."

Mike has a girlfriend now. Bob doesn't. "We've never been single at the same time," Bob says.

There are differences on the court as well. Mike's known for his serve returns. Bob for his serve. Bob believes he could be in the top 50 players in the world "if I invested a couple of years of my life in it."

"But," he says, "that's not what fulfills us." They like being No. 1 in something. They like winning most of their matches, which they might not do as singles players. They like drawing larger crowds. "We play a doubles match here, we pack the seats," Bob says. "I play a singles match, the stadium is 25 percent full."

He adds, "I am 100 percent sure that I want to be doing this."

They don't mind sharing the glory. They share just about everything else, even the same bank account. As they were growing up, the family home had enough bedrooms for each boy to have one, but they wanted to sleep in the same room.

"When we get old," Bob says, "we'll probably end up living on the same street."

They joke about their life after tennis. "We will do something together," Bob says.

Maybe own a club. "I'll be head pro," Mike says. And to Bob: "You'll be my assistant."
Game Time

Their first round match on Stadium Court in Washington is delayed. By the 10:30 p.m. start time, there are only about a thousand sweat-drenched spectators in the stands. Before the warm-up, Wayne oversees a goofy promotion in which contestants have to play a matching game with oversize cards.

Over the public address system, Wayne tells the folks to stick around as "Jordan Kerr and Bobby Reynolds take on the number one doubles team in the world: the Rockin' Bryan Twins!"

The Bryans come onto the court to warm up. They are wearing red shirts, black-and-white shorts, black shoes, white socks and good-guy white caps. Bob plays the deuce court; Mike the ad. Bob's first serves are in the 130s. He hits 140 mph with one. Mike has a powerful return.

Their baseline strokes are sure; the volleys strong-wristed.

When they change courts, they sit in chairs side by side. Their legs jiggle in unison.

On the court, they are a coach's dream, tennis fundamentalists -- they run to position, they stay on their toes, they keep each other pumped up with high fives, knuckle knocks, the occasional chest bump. They move their feet, get their rackets back early. They are a well-tuned two-stroke engine. They apologize for missed shots, encourage each other to poach.

But most of all they focus. They are like velociraptors, double-teaming their prey.

They win the match, 6-4, 6-2, in 52 minutes.

As they carry their bags from the court, scores of young people and adults wait at the exit, asking the Bryans to sign oversize tennis balls and programs. The brothers take their time. It's getting near midnight, but they don't seem in a hurry to leave.

They are on center court. They are winning much more than they are losing. They are No. 1. Both of them. Together.

(10/21/04) Bryans Repeat as Masters Cup Doubles Champions

By: Brad Falkner, special to USTA.com

Rain has been the week-long nemesis of the 2004 Masters Cup.

In the end, it was confetti that showered the courts as the Davis Cup duo of Bob and Mike Bryan defended their Masters Cup title defeating Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 in a captivating comeback victory.

(9/25/04) USA Reaches First Final Since 1997

Bob and Mike Bryan defeated Max Mirnyi and Vladimir Voltchkov 61 63 75 to fire USA into the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Final for the first time since 1997.

Belarus replaced Alexander Skrypko, originally nomianted to play alongside Max Mirnyi, with Vladimir Voltchkov, but it was to no avail.

The USA’s unassailable 3-0 lead means the squad, which also included singles players World No.2 Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish, will either travel to Spain or take on France at home in November, with the chance to earn the nation's first Davis Cup title since 1995.

Patrick McEnroe’s team have been preaching the benefits of team work and the spirit of friendship that unites the American players and the Bryan’s win could scarcely have epitomised it more. The twins, who have never been beaten in Davis Cup by BNP Paribas play, play regularly on the ATP Tour and their natural affinity was apparent from the opening rallies onward, just as it had been when they beat Mirnyi and Voltchkov in the Olympics last month.

They raced to a 4-1 lead before breaking the Mirnyi serve to give themselves a cushion in the first set, which they wrapped up when the Fossil Watches-sponsored courtside clock showed that only 24 minutes had passed.

The pattern continued in the second set, much to the delight of the noisy Saturday afternoon crowd in the Family Circle Tennis Centre. Armed with noise sticks and in good voice, Charleston’s tennis fans provided a near-constant chorus of support for the Bryans, ably assisted by a brass band and the rest of the US team. Roddick in particular could hardly stay in his seat when the Bryans broke the Voltchkov serve to go 2-1 up and give themselves a lead in the second set, which they held on to with some smoothly delivered serve and volley which made light of the gusting winds – the first salvos of Hurricane Jeanne, which is reportedly heading Charleston’s way.

With Mirnyi and Voltchkov fought hard to keep their tremendous Davis Cup by BNP Paribas run going but ultimately, just as it had been in the singles, Belarus lost to the superior team. The squad leaves South Carolina buoyed by the fact they defeated both Russia and Argentina en route to a historic semi-final on the nation’s first year in the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group.

The third set was closer than the first two but the Belarussians eventually gave in to the tremendous pressure from Bryan and Bryan. At 5-6 down Voltchkov’s serve buckled, and while he and Mirnyi saved the first match-point, they were powerless to save the second and prevent the flood of American team members on to the court.

The enduring image of the tie will be the US team engulfing the Bryans before doing a lap of honour with the American flag to rapturous cheers. “It doesn’t get any better than that,” said Mike Bryan. “I had goosebumps holding that flag up, Davis Cup is the best thing that you can do in tennis.”

(5/1/04) U.S. Open champ Roddick saves lives in Italy
Georgia man dies in hotel fire in Rome

By KAREN CROUSE
Palm Beach Post
Published on: 05/01/04

The thing that struck Blanche Roddick, at home in Boca Raton, was how calm her son sounded. It was early Saturday morning in Rome, and Andy Roddick was standing on the balcony of his burning hotel, speaking into his cellphone and describing in a newsman's measured clip the chaos all around him.

Guests at the Grand Hotel Parco dei Principi were trying to escape the licking flames by jumping onto the wraparound balcony outside Roddick's sixth-floor suite. He heard screaming outside his door.

Tennis players Mariano Zabaleta of Argentina, left, and Andy Roddick of the United States leave the luxury Parco dei Principe hotel near Rome's Villa Borghese park, Saturday, May 1, 2004 where a fire broke out killing an American and two Canadians, fire officials said. The fire broke out before dawn in a room on the third floor of the hotel.

When Blanche, summoning the most soothing voice she could muster under the circumstances, suggested that Andy — in Rome to play in this week's Italian Open — wet some bathroom towels and stick them under his door, he corrected her.

"Mom," he said, "it's way beyond that."

Roddick, the reigning U.S. Open champion and the No. 2-ranked tennis player in the world, had awakened around 5 a.m. to an acrid smell. He padded to his front door, swung it open and was assaulted by billowy black smoke.

There were people in the hallway, groping for fresh air. Some of them were hysterical. Roddick, 21, pulled close to a dozen people into his spacious upgraded digs — the hotel management had insisted on opening its Royal Suite to him — and herded them onto the balcony.

There they huddled, awaiting help. Soot was falling from the sky. Bodies were landing like birds on Roddick's terrace.

Sjeng Schalken, a 6-foot-4 tennis player from the Netherlands, dropped like an albatross into Roddick's open arms. He had jumped from his room on the seventh floor.

Schalken's wife Ricky was another of the half-dozen people Roddick guided to a safe landing. In January at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam event of the year, Roddick had faced Schalken in the quarterfinals and dispatched him in three breezy sets.

They had been fierce opponents then. But now Roddick and Schalken were comrades, banding together. As the heat grew more intense, the bodies on Roddick's balcony grew more dense. Roddick told his mother there were two dozen of them jumbled together, waiting to be rescued.

At one point, Roddick told his mother, "I have my head about me. It's amazing how calm I am."

Somebody had to be. A few people on the balcony grew more panicky with every passing minute. Roddick had to get in the faces of a couple of people who were easily twice his age and tell them in the nicest way possible to get a grip.

On the floor directly below Roddick, an American from Georgia had tied bedsheets together to make a rope. James Lawery, 58, tried to shimmy to safety from his balcony. He wouldn't make it. He fell to his death.

Bernice and Paul Busque, a Canadian couple in their 60s, were the other casualties of the blaze. They died of asphyxiation.

Roddick was still on the phone with his mother when the emergency vehicles screeched to a halt in front of the building and firefighters spilled out. She had to laugh at what she heard him say next.

"Hey," Roddick cried out. "You guys with the ladder. If you come over here, I'll buy you pizza!"

That's Blanche and Jerry's youngest son. Ever the entertainer, always playing to the crowd.

Before they hung up, Blanche Roddick could hear Andy delivering instructions to the people around him. Her heart swelled with pride when the voice she knows better than her own said, "I'll be the last one down."

And people wonder how Roddick kept his composure when he was down two sets and had a match point against him in his U.S. Open semifinal with David Nalbandian.

In time, Roddick made it to the ground floor of the property. Several people he recognized were already standing outside. The 200 guests who were evacuated included Mike and Bob Bryan, the No. 1-ranked U.S. doubles team. They were barefoot and dazed.

There was Max Mirnyi, a big-server from Belarus. He was hard to miss. The 6-foot-5 player, clad only in shorts, was forlornly clutching a blanket around his shoulders.

Two young American female tourists were questioned by police over the origin of the blaze, which started in their room, gutting it and another.

The other guests were taken to the Austrian embassy, where they waited in a long snaking line for the privilege of using the restrooms and freshening themselves up. Later in the day, they were allowed back in the hotel to retrieve their belongings.

The rackets of Marat Safin, the 2000 U.S. Open champion, were reduced to piles of ash. Roddick's stuff survived the fire fine. Nobody had to tell him how fortunate he was.

Last month, Roddick wowed the Delray Beach Tennis Center crowd with his bravura, winning both his singles matches to lead the U.S. to a Davis Cup victory against Sweden.

On Saturday, Roddick's bravery was front and center.

(4/10/04) U.S. vs Sweden :Day 2 Wrap-up
By Greg Laub, USTA.com
Rubber Three: Doubles
Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA) vs.
Jonas Bjorkman/Thomas Johansson (SWE)

It seemed as if it took the Bryan brothers a warm-up game each set to get their energy going, but once they did they demonstrated just why U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe considers them the leaders of the team.

In the first game, Bob was broken and the Swedes took an early lead. But the Bryans broke right back, culminated by a winner from an ecstatic Bob, who lept into the air and pumped his fist in jubilation. And that wasn’t the last of the fist pumps and chest bumps we’d see in the first set from the excitable Americans.

At times, Bjorkman and Johansson looked like a couple of fathers playing with their young, more athletic sons, as the boys ran all around, displaying the kind of endless vigor typically reserved for teenagers. But the 25-year-olds never slowed down, obviously completely aware of the importance this key match held in the United States' hopes.

When Mike closed out the first set with a booming serve that Bjorkman barely got a racket on, it looked as if he and Johansson were never going to be able to put up a fight against the world No. 1 tandem at all.

But with a 6-3 lead and the wild crowd behind them, the American twins hit a bump in the road again. For the second time in a row they fell behind a break to start a set. But they battled back immediately once again, and with a few exceptional shots and some huge serves, they got themselves back up a break and won the set 6-4.

The brothers managed to get past the first service of the third set without being broken â€â€Å“ in fact, they broke serve themselves for the fifth time in seven opportunities. But this time it was the Swedes who battled back and broke, keeping their hopes for a comeback alive. But the passion of the Bryan brothers prevailed, and with some brilliant shots, including a between-the-legs rundown by Mike, the boys closed out the third set and the match, 6-4.

The Swedes' serves were no match for the booming serves of both Bob and Mike. The Americans combined for six aces and just two double faults, while the Swedish tandem had two aces and five double faults. Perhaps the most telling stat of all: Bob successfully returned 90% of the serves to him, while Mike returned 88%.

In the end, the U.S. got just the boost they were hoping for out of Mike and Bob, both on the scorecard and in their psyche, as teammates Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish will now try to feed off the energy and momentum the two boys brought to the court when they head into the final day up 2-1.

(8/23/03)Roddick, Blake, Bryan Twins On US Davis Cup Team
NEW YORK (AP) Andy Roddick, James Blake and twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan head the U.S. Davis Cup team picked Thursday for next month's World Group playoff against Slovakia.
The Bryans won their first Grand Slam doubles title at the French Open this year. They never have played in the Davis Cup.

Team captain Patrick McEnroe also put Mardy Fish and Brian Vahaly on the squad. The official four-man team doesn't have to be announced until an hour before the draw for the best-of-five series.

The teams will play outdoors on clay in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Sept. 19-21.

The winner will return to the World Group and be eligible for the 2004 Davis Cup title, while the loser will have to go into regional qualifying.

The United States lost to Croatia 4-1 in the first round of this year's tournament. Roddick missed that match.

(6/12/03)ATP Interview with Bryans days after 2003 Roland Garros doubles title win
Bryan Brothers Meet the Press
Four days removed from their first Grand Slam title, Bob and Mike Bryan reflect on their historic achievement.

Bob and Mike Bryan are the most decorated team of brothers in the Open Era.
Bob and Mike Bryan took some time away from the Stella Artois Championships in London to sit in on a media conference call on Wednesday to speak about their experiences over the past week.

The Bryan's Roland Garros title made them the most successful team of brothers in The Open Era with 11 titles, one more than Tim and Tom Gullikson, to whom they've dedicated their Roland Garros victory.

Q. Regarding Phillip Farmer, I guess directed to Bob first, then Mike, how did you get involved with Phillip as your coach? How much has he helped your game?
MIKE BRYAN: Well, we met Phillip when he was working with (inaudible) Schneider maybe a couple years ago. But I went to Joplin, a challenger, early in the year. I went by myself. Phillip was there working with another player. He warmed me up for my matches, gave me some game plans. I won the challenger. It went really well. We were really happy with it. But he started working with us -- Roland Garros was his third tournament with us. He started in Rome. He's an extremely hard worker. He gets in there in the weight room with us. He stretches us out. He scouts the matches. He has extremely good game plans for each match. He's very organized and professional. We're really happy working with Phillip.

Q. If you guys could both break it down mentally and physically, what do you think it was that brought your game to the next level together to win this Grand Slam title?
MIKE BRYAN: Well, to win a Grand Slam, you got to do everything right. We got there a week early to Paris. We got settled in our hotel, and we started working really hard, had like four or five practice matches before. When the tournament started, we were ready to go. We started off and just the momentum was building. We took one match at a time before the day started where we said Round 1, and then we just kept building. You know, mentally it's tough because we were never in that situation before, never been in a Grand Slam final. When we went out there, we just told ourselves we got to believe and we got to be confident. We knew nerves were going to come into play, but I thought we fought them off pretty well.
BOB BRYAN: We were really strong mentally, because actually Mahesh Bhupathi told us that Grand Slam finals aren't about tennis, it's all mental. I think that was the case. We got broken four times. I don't think we've ever won a match in the last five years where we've got broken five times. We're both good servers. In the past, that might have just freaked us out. But we stayed mentally tough the whole way through. That carried us through the Grand Slam final.

Q. Patrick McEnroe during the French Open mentioned he might have to start considering you guys for the Davis Cup, wondering if that's still a big goal of yours. Would you like to be named in September for the playoff against Slovak Republic?
BOB BRYAN: Obviously, when we came on the tour, Davis Cup was one of our biggest goals. Patrick McEnroe was in Paris watching all of our matches. He was really positive towards our games. He also said, he wasn't there for the finals, but, "Don't worry about Davis Cup, guys, just go out there and play hard. It looks good for you guys." Davis Cup isn't a real big goal coming up. It's pretty far down the road. It's in September. We have Wimbledon, US Open coming up, which is our biggest goals right now. We're not really thinking about Davis Cup. We're thinking about being No. 1 in the world, winning Wimbledon.

Q. Concerning Phillip, you talked about how organized he is, how he gets in the weight room with you guys. How important is that as a coach for a guy that's willing to get in there and do the dirty work with you guys to get you ready for tournaments?
MIKE BRYAN: I think it's really important because, I mean, when you put in all that work, you put in the long hours on the court, off the court, you're mentally prepared. You feel really confident going into each match. When you're not prepared, you're not as confident. Down breakpoint, you know you've put in all the work, you're going to hit a good serve. With Phillip, we've put in a lot of hours. We've probably put in the most hours in those three weeks than we have in a long time. We had meetings off the court. He would come to our room every night before the match, and we'd all sit down and discuss game plans, get it in our mind, spend half an hour going over certain stuff. We all work together. We call ourselves the wolf pack. We're all -- we have good chemistry between the three of us. You know, we all like each other a lot.

Q. The reaction you've been receiving from everybody, has your dad's heart rate returned to normal yet?
BOB BRYAN: It's been nice. We walked into Queen's. Everyone we saw congratulated us. When Andre Agassi comes up to you and gives you a hug and says, "Congratulations. How does it feel?," You know you've done
something special. I guess everyone in Queen's watched it on TV, in the locker room. I guess there were a hundred people down there watching it. I mean, it's fun going into a tournament, everybody shakes your hand and says, "Great job."
MIKE BRYAN: Also, our e-mails have been flooded. Their e-mails are getting returned because our box is full. We have already gotten 250 e-mails. Any chance we get, we're trying to crank out 10 at a time, in between practice sessions, trying to write back everyone a personal response. I mean, it's awesome. My parents drove by our high school, they have a banner out already that says, "Congratulations, Mike and Bob." It's just been awesome. Everyone has given us great support. I mean, every day there's something new that just makes you smile.

Q. Have your dad's feet touched the ground yet?
BOB BRYAN: He's pumped. My mom is building a trophy case at the house. The carpenter was over there last night. They had a barbecue, put the trophies out. They're loving it. We're all loving it. We're all flying. We're all in the clouds.

Q. Have you spoken to Tom Gully? If so, what was that conversation
like?
BOB BRYAN: We haven't spoken to Tom yet, but my dad -- he knows my
dad's e-mail address and he's been sending some great e-mails. He's just
saying he's proud of us. He knew we'd break the record. Actually, before each time we got in the position, he was sending us great support in the e-mails. I guess he called my parents. We haven't spoken to him personally yet. I'm sure we'll see him at Wimbledon. He'll come up and give us a hug, say, "Great job." We're great friends of him. He always says that twins got to stick together. I think it's made our doubles a little stronger because we're never going to get up on each other. Mike has a bad day, I have a bad day, we're both going to stick together.

Q. You guys have always been strong supporters of doubles. Did you
need this title particularly to really give legitimacy to your support of
it? What does it do for you in terms of that?
MIKE BRYAN: I mean, we've always loved doubles. We've had doubles
goals from the very beginning. Yeah, we wanted to help out doubles. We
know if we won a Grand Slam, we could popularize doubles and help doubles
out. Doubles is kind of slipping. They need a big team, they need some fun. Crowds want to come see us play because we're twins. I think we needed to win a big Grand Slam to be put on the map.

Q. Did you ever feel like a novelty act?
BOB BRYAN: Yeah, sort of. I mean, we were always one of the top teams, but we never won a big one. We beat everyone and we won tournaments, but a Grand Slam, I mean, would definitely put us in that top echelon. We wanted to be up there.

Q. Bob, do you buy the arguments that doubles is slipping, and
should it? Is it just as good, just as important as singles?
BOB BRYAN: Yeah, I mean, we definitely feel it is. I think a lot of the fans across the world think it is. I think 90% of people play doubles. You don't see two 65-year-old men out there grinding on the singles court. Everyone plays doubles. I mean, we've always had good crowds. I think if tournaments and the ATP got the doubles players' names out there more, made these players more popular, I think it could grow. We're going to try to help that out. We've always put doubles a little bit ahead of singles. This was our goal, was to win a Grand Slam. We wanted to win singles Slams, but this was our goal, to win the doubles.

Q. Why is that? To do it together?
BOB BRYAN: To do it together. If I won a singles Slam, I think Mike would feel a little left out. To do it together is better, I think, just because we're always together. Now we have double the pleasure.
MIKE BRYAN: And to be a team and to stick together. I mean, my parents would rather see us win a doubles title. I mean, we're twins. The whole family is out on the court. It's not just one of us. It's the Bryan name out on the court. It's very special.

Q. Has the victory soaked in yet? What are your plans for the next
few weeks? What do you think it will soak in?
MIKE BRYAN: Actually, it's starting to sink in. The first couple days, it didn't really hit us. I mean, we went out, we were tired. But once we walked into Queen's, we saw the reaction from all our friends, the players, even the fans, now it's starting to sink in. We know what we've done. Just looking at our e-mail box, seeing how many people we've touched, it's pretty amazing. I mean, we've worked our whole lives for this. We have had this goal since we were six years old to win a doubles Grand Slam. Right when you do it, you realize how much hard work you put in. Now if everything goes wrong in the rest of our careers, we at least have a Grand Slam. It's kind of cool.
BOB BRYAN: Yeah. But after the match, we all three sat down and we
talked for an hour. You know, we all came together, talked for an hour. We
wanted to use this to keep going. We all know what it takes now. We have
the mould of what it takes to win a Slam. I mean, this is going to help us a lot for the next Grand Slams we play. We're going to prepare the same way. We're not satisfied. We're going to keep trying to win these slams because this feeling is unbelievable. We want to keep chasing this feeling.

Q. What is your relationship like with Phillip off the court? How much does the good chemistry you talked about play a role in the success?
BOB BRYAN: We love Phillip. As young guys, we all love to hang out
together. We love music. He sings in our band now. I mean, we love going
out to clubs. It's cool because we love going to the gym, he likes lifting
with us. Before, we would go by ourselves. Now he's motivating us. He
goes in there with us and it keeps us fired up. Phillip is right here with us if you want to ask him a few questions. He's sitting on the bed with us.

Q. Have the endorsement calls been flying in?
BOB BRYAN: The endorsement calls?

Q. Yes.
BOB BRYAN: Sure, our agent, John Tobias, is working hard. He's letting us play tennis right now. I'm sure when we get home, he'll have some stuff for us to do.

Q. I hope that Double Minute chewing gum will call you guys.
BOB BRYAN: That would be fun. We've been trying to get that one for a while.

Q. Would that be a good one?
BOB BRYAN: It would be a fun one to do. We have a few good ones.
We have adidas, Wilson and Oakley. We're pretty thankful for them. They've
helped us out a lot.

Q. Is there going to be any greater emphasis by either/or both of
you guys on singles now? You've been saying your goal was the doubles. What now?
BOB BRYAN: Yeah, I mean, I really didn't know what was going to
happen here. I said, "Let me get that first Slam, I'll start working on the
singles." I don't think it's going to work that way now. We got this first
Slam. Now we just want to keep on going. We see a long road ahead in the
doubles. We have a lot of titles we want to win. We see Davis Cup. We see
the Olympics. This feels unbelievable.
MIKE BRYAN: Like a drug. You want more.
BOB BRYAN: You want more of it. I'm going to work hard on my
singles. I got a couple opportunities coming up. Hopefully this Grand Slam
title opens the door for some wildcards. I'm definitely not a doubles
specialist. Mike is not either. We've played good singles in our career.
I'm just hoping this opens the opportunity so I can get out on the court and
prove myself in the singles.

Q. You don't consider yourselves doubles specialists?
BOB BRYAN: Definitely not. I mean, I have had some good wins out
here. I put singles on the back burner to do this right here, to win a
Grand Slam. I mean, this feels unbelievable. Better than any win I've ever
had.

Q. Phillip, do you feel the guys are prepared on all of the
surfaces equally?
PHILLIP FARMER: Yeah, I do. It's funny, we talked about it
afterwards. One of their most comfortable surfaces or favorite surfaces, is
grass, which is exciting now. I had one reporter right after the finals ask
me what their favorite surface is. I'd have to say clay now. They semi-ed
in the US Open. They won Queen's, Newport I think two years in a row, going for three years coming up. They've semi-ed Wimbledon and the US Open. It really shows how well-rounded their games are, individually and as a team.Their singles and doubles individually and as a team, they're very
comfortable on all four surfaces (sic). It's exciting, because every time
we step on the court, even here at Queen's, we just feel very confident,
that every match we're in, we can win.

Q. You probably have to feel like you're on Cloud 9?
PHILLIP FARMER: It's very special. I mean, not only did both the
boys here have -- their huge goal was to win a Grand Slam. Even as a young
coach, I'll be 29 coming up in about a week, I started coaching seven years
ago. It's my seventh year coaching on the tour. I set a goal even for
myself that I wanted to coach a player or players to win a Grand Slam title.
Obviously that was a pretty high goal that I set. I mean, it's been a big
dream and passion of mine. I've worked very hard the last few years.
To get an opportunity to coach two amazing boys, twins, have it come
true with them, has been incredible. We've known each other many years.
I'm very good friends with the family, very good friends with each of them.
We all set the goal out there, we've worked extremely hard the last
month, month and a half. For it to come true is amazing. On top of it,
Mike won the mixed with fellow American Lisa Raymond, who the only Slam she hadn't won was the French Open. She's a good friend of mine, and theirs. We won two out of the five Slams at the French. They didn't lose a set en
route to their first Grand Slam. The next morning I kind of went to their room, we just had to make sure it was true. We really did it. Yeah, it's special. It's special to do it with these guys who are great for the sport of tennis, USTA, everything they've done, just amazing competitors, amazing boys.

Q. Can you tell them apart?
PHILLIP FARMER: I finally can. I wasn't able to for a while there.
I didn't want to admit that. Ever since I started working with them, I've
been able to tell them apart. I got it down. Hopefully I don't choke.

Doubles Woes Stir Thoughts of Bryan Twins
by Lisa Dillman (Los Angeles Times)-Tuesday, February 11 , 2003
Of course, it's easy to say now that that U.S. Davis Cup team captain Patrick McEnroe made a mistake by not picking twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan to play doubles against Croatia.

The long-storied art of second-guessing is at its peak after Davis Cup adventures. It's true even in the United States, though the Cup seems to have a rapidly diminishing profile.

McEnroe has made many more good decisions than bad, but this appears to have been a rare mistake. Croatia won, 4-1, in the first round of the Davis Cup in Zagreb. In Saturday's critical doubles match, Mardy Fish and James Blake squandered a two-sets-to-love lead against patched-together Goran Ivanisevic and Ivan Ljubicic, and the Croatians started firing the ball at an increasingly tight Fish in the third-set tie-breaker.

Blake, playing the No.1 position for the first time, had already played eight sets before he faced Ljubicic on Sunday with the United States trailing, 2-1. The presence of the Bryans would have taken a sizable mental and physical load off Blake.

A few more statistics to consider: Although Blake and Fish won their Davis Cup doubles match against Slovakia last year, they had not played together on the tour since a first-round loss at Indian Wells last March. The Bryans won five titles in eight finals and reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year.


Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Wertheim answers Bryan related questions from readers at
www.sportsillustrated.com


Comment by a Reader- I am really offended by Patrick McEnroe's Davis Cup choices. I can understand why Pete Sampras was asked, but since he and Andre Agassi both declined, why wasn't the doubles opportunity given to the Bryan brothers? They are a very good team and would perhaps benefit from that level of exposure and coaching. How is it that McEnroe thinks Mardy Fish is a backup singles player for either Andy Roddick or James Blake? And I love Todd Martin, but his best days are behind him. When is McEnroe going to wake up, get out of the 20th century and give the guys of the future a chance? This is typical of his non-creative, risk-free style -- normally a quality attributed to the USTA -- which stops encouraging players who have a right to the spot.

Jon Wertheim - Several of you wrote in asking about the Bryan brothers' omission. Let's first say that -- as anyone who has coached or played Little League can attest -- it's inherent to team sports that there will be dissatisfaction about lineups and the parceling out of playing time. But your question is valid: The Bryans are, after all, barely a week removed from beating the world's top doubles team. I put the matter to the U.S.'s straight-shooting captain the other day. Pat McEnroe asserted, reasonably, I think, that the Bryans are a great team but, is it a given that they're better than Martin and Blake, who won a Masters Series event together last month? Probably not. Martin and Blake, on the other hand, are unquestionably better singles players. So you go with the more versatile players. Fair enough. (The conspiracy theorist might point out that Martin's longtime coach and friend, Rick Ferman, is a high-ranking USTA executive. But we wouldn't dare suggest that politics could influence a USTA decision.)

Comment from a Reader- Thanks for referring your readers to Wayne Bryan's columns from the U.S. Open. They were a lot of fun. It was big of you to advertise a rival tennis site.

Jon Wertheim - Thanks, but honestly, a rival site is a golf site. If you're in the market for another tennis destination check out Court Coverage, which does a great job summarizing tennis coverage around the globe.