Stanford products Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan have already won more doubles titles together than any other team in professional tennis. Being the first to 100 cements their legacy.
The top-seeded Bryan twins defeated Spain’s Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, 6-3, 6-4, in the men’s doubles title match at the US Open on Sunday in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“It feels great to be recognized and to achieve something great in a sport you have dedicated your life to,” Bob Bryan said of winning the 100th title.
The Bryans, now 36, also captured their record fifth US Open title, matching Richard Sears and James Dwight. They accomplished the feat by playing their usual steady game. The Bryan’s committed a mere five unforced errors to the Spaniards’ 17.
The Bryans won 79 percent of their first serves and 74 percent of their second serves while Granollers and Lopez won 68 percent and 33 percent of their respective serves.
Stanford grad Scott Lipsky and his partner Rajeev Ram took the Bryan’s to three sets in their semifinal match. Cardinal grad Bradley Klahn and teammate Tim Smyczek went to a tiebreaker in the second set in a third-round match with them.
Playing in their 20th US Open, the Bryan brothers also won her in 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2012. They have won 16 Grand Slam titles.
The match was a measure of revenge for the Bryans, who lost to Granollers and Lopez in the quarterfinal of the French Open earlier this year.
Bob Bryan served the winner on the second match point as the brothers collected a paycheck of $520,000 to share.
The twins began playing in the US Open in 1995 and lost their first-round matches in five consecutive years before reaching the quarterfinals in 2000.
They did win a NCAA team title and doubles title (Bob Bryan also won the singles title) on Stanford’s heralded undefeated (28-0) 1998 team that also featured current coach Paul Goldstein.
The Bryans last won a Grand Slam title at the 2013 Wimbledon, which ended a run of four straight Grand Slam championships.
The next milestone within reach for the Bryans is 900, with the duo currently sitting on 899 career victories overall.
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports
The plural of Bryon is Bryons, as in “two Bryans”.