New York: It isn’t that the Bryan brothers have been the best doubles team in professional tennis forever. It just seems that way.
But Bob and Mike, the twins from Camarillo, now have something else to shoot for besides staying No. 1. When they won their semi-final match in the US Open on Thursday, before a sizeable doubles crowd in Ashe Stadium, they moved to within one victory of their 100th tour title.
“This year feels like an added bonus,” said Bob Bryan, the left-hander. “If we can do it [win No. 100 here], it would add something really special to the Grand Slam title ...
“It’s not like, oh, my God, we’re going to be stuck on 99 forever. We’re both confident we’ll knock down that title at some point.
“It would just be cool to do it here.”
They beat the unseeded US team of Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Sunday, they will play Spaniards Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, seeded No. 11. If the Bryans win, it will be their fifth US Open title and their 16th Grand Slam title. They have also made 11 major finals now, including Sunday’s.
After Thursday’s match, they were asked about their effective on-court communication. “We’ve been communicating like this since the womb,” said Bob.
Or maybe it was Mike. If they don’t have a racket in their hand, it’s hard to tell which is which.
They are both recently married and live in Florida now, Bob in Sunny Isles Beach and Mike in Wesley Chapel. Those cities are about four hours apart and it’s as much separation as these two normally get.
They are 36. They used to play other events with other people, or even an occasional men’s doubles with another man. Not much anymore. The numbers don’t lie.
Bob’s winnings last year were $1,632,854 (Dh5.9m). Mike’s were $1,632,854.
