Publication Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Ex-Stanford twins are double trouble for foes by winning U.S. Open title
Ex-Stanford twins are double trouble for foes by winning U.S. Open title
(September 14, 2005) by Rick Eymer
Former Stanford All-Americans Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan received over 45 e-mails and 19 phone messages from the time they beat seeded Max Mirnyi and Jonas Bjorkman, 6-1, 6-4, in the championship match of the U.S. Open men's doubles tournament in New York on Friday to the time they reached the interview room.
One of their more cherished calls came from Stanford Director of Tennis Dick Gould, who offered some advice before the match.
"Gould said . . . yesterday he wrote me," Mike Bryan said. "He's like, 'Go take it, it's all about you guys.' That means don't rely on your opponents to just give it to you."
Gould, who coached the Bryan twins at Stanford, reacted to the victory more like a proud father than an ex-coach.
"I called their dad's cell phone during the awards ceremony just to leave a message," Gould said. "It's great for them. They've been so close all the way through. They remember their roots and have come back to give financial help and personal help. They are a lot of fun to watch because they play with a lot of enthusiasm and are always moving around."
The Bryan's needed just 57 minutes to dispatch their opponents. The twins delivered seven aces, with Bob Bryan recording five of them, in winning their first-ever doubles title in the U.S. Open.
"It feels unbelievable," Mike Bryan said. "You know, we didn't want to go down as one of the only teams to lose all the Slams. It's more kind of a relief. But to do it here at the U.S. Open, it's worth giving up five in a row. We knew if we got to the finals enough times we'd eventually crack it loose."
The Bryan's had lost five straight Slam finals since winning their first Grand Slam title at the 2003 French Open. The Bryan's lost in the finals of the U.S. Open the same year.
This season the Bryans reached the finals - and lost - at the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon.
"We almost completed the anti-Slam," Bob Bryan said. "That would have been a feat. So win or lose it was going to be amazing. It's been a long two and a half years; a lot of heart break. We've been really consistent and we've been the No. 1 team (in Sept. of 2003) in the world, and really beaten all the teams. We just struggled right at that last step. So it's good to get it now."
The Bryan's have reached nine finals this year, and won three titles. They've reached the semifinals in three other tournaments. The U.S. Open championship was Bob's 25th career ATP doubles title and Mike's 27th. Neither player has won a singles title.
After losing at Wimbledon, the Bryan's stayed away from tennis for awhile to let the frustration dissipate.
"It hurt pretty bad," Mike Bryan said. "We didn't even want to bring it up. It has been a tough year. We've played well but we lost the big matches. Now we know we can win that huge match, so it's a good turnaround.
For Bob Bryan, stepping into the winner's circle at the U.S. Open was nothing new. He's been part of the winning mixed doubles team the past three years, taking the trophy with Lisa Raymond in 2002 (and beating Mike Bryan and Kara Srebotnik in the finals), Katarina Srebotnik in 2003 and Vera Zvonareva last year.
Sharing the championship trophy with each other, however, was a little more special.
"Since we were six years old we always thought it would be pretty damn cool to win the U.S. Open,'' Mike Bryan said. "I felt we played the best match of the year; maybe of our career.''
The Bryan twins continue a long legacy of success at the U.S. Open (both in the Golden era and Open era) by men associated with Stanford. R. Lindley Murray won the singles title in 1917 and 1918 (the Open was first contested in 1881), John H. Doeg won in 1930, Frederick Schroeder won in 1942 and John McEnroe won four titles: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984.
McEnroe was also part of four doubles championships and Schroeder teamed with the legendary Jack Kramer for three doubles titles. Doeg won twice, and Keith Gledhill, Jim Grabb, and Alex O'Brien each won once.
Schroeder and Jared Palmer also won mixed doubles titles at the New York event.
The Bryan's, who beat Stanford grads Paul Goldstein and Jim Thomas (3-6, 6-1, 6-2) in the semifinals, became the first Stanford combination to win a U.S. Open title.
Kim Gould, a recent Harvard grad, was able to assure a family presence at the U.S. Open by attending the all-Stanford semifinal.
"She's a huge sports fan and spent weekends at Stanford watching those guys play," Dick Gould said. "I'm happy her boss let her off work for the match."
The Bryan's led Stanford to back-to-back NCAA titles in 1997-98 before turning pro. Both were two-time All-Americans. They teamed to win the NCAA doubles titles in 1998 after Bob Bryan won the singles crown that season.
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