Bryans Win Fourth Title In 2009
ATP World Tour No. 1 Bob and Mike Bryan needed only 49 minutes to defeat the American wild card duo of Jessie Levine and Ryan Sweeting, 6-1. 6-2, in the final of the US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston on Saturday.
The
Bryan brothers improved to an ATP World Tour-best 26-3 match record with their fourth title of the season and their second title in three years in
Houston. Their other titles in 2009 have come in
Sydney, the Australian Open and
Delray Beach. The
Bryans are 53-33 lifetime in finals.
The Bryans broke the first-time ATP World Tour finalists six times while losing their serve twice. Overall, they won 54 to 31 points in the match.
"We got an early lead on these guys and luckily we stayed hot the whole way," said Bob Bryan. "We were extra focused continuing through the match. It always feels good to win a title and it's awesome to start the first quarter of the year with four titles and it couldn't be going any better for us."
Mike Bryan added, "It feels great when you leave a week and you haven't lost. We're very happy with the first tournament of the clay court season. We are looking forward to going to Europe and we're going to be over there for 13 weeks. It's really important to win a title on the clay and getting your balance and a lot of confidence. We got four matches under our belt and we look to build on that."
Levine and Sweeting advanced to the final with victories over No. 3 seeds Arnold Ker-Damm in the first round and No. 2 seeds Fisher-Kerr in the semi-finals. Excerpted from ATPTennis.com.
Fast Facts:
*** The other match wins the Bros. had in Houston included beating their Davis Cup pals James Blake-Mardy Fish for the third straight time, 7-5, 6-7, 10-4 and their friends John Isner-Travis Parrott, 6-4, 6-2.
*** On Thursday Night the
Bryan twins received their "Fan Favorite Doubles Team" Award from the ATP. It was the fourth straight year that that the Bros.
have been voted that title. They received 28% of the vote, while Nestor-Zimonjic got 16%, Bhupathi-Knowles 11% and Bjorkman-Ullyett 10%. In singles, Roger Federer won with 26% and Rafael Nadal 22%.
*** That same Thursday Night, the Bryan Bros. Band performed for 800 people at the River Oaks Country Club. Bob played keys and Mike played guitar and also some drums and they flew in their pal and very talented singer and keyboard player David Baron and they also used the top local drummer in Houston, Joe DeLeon, while their Dad also played guitar and sang. They rocked the house and were warmly received and their new single "Let It Rip" also went over very well.
*** They will also be performing at Wimbledon in June and the Los Angeles Tournament in July.
*** Mike 'n Bob enjoyed hooking up with their long time pal and Stanford teammate Ali Ansari in H Town and also Alex Smith who had come to Shanghai and the Birmingham Davis Cup to root them on. Their Uncle Rob and Aunt Sarah and cousin Emy Gerhart were there for the finals as well. Following their title the brothers and their friends attended a gala celebration at the home of their financial advisor Al Trullenque.
*** Coach Wayne Bryan also emceed the event and did clinics and talks during the tournament. All the Bryans want to thank Tournament Director Van Barry for his warm hospitality and for the great job he did on the US Claycourt Championships at the beautiful River Oaks Country Club. Thanks also to Bronwyn Greer for all her magnanimous efforts. And one last special thanks to Gilley Agosto for running the transpo perfectly all week. Thanks to Andy and Bobby too!
*** Wtih a record of 26-3 and 4 titles, 2009 is the best start of their 11 year pro career. They also won their Davis Cup Match against Switzerland in early March and they will play their quarter final tie against Croatia the week following Wimbledon. Mike and Bob love playing Davis Cup for the USA along with their close pals Andy Roddick and James Blake and their great Captain, Patrick McEnroe.
*** The Bryans also did quite a bit of filming for Sweet Spots Tips for the USPTA that will be shown on the Tennis Channel later in the year. The USPTA and Joe Birkmire filmed the entire gig on Thursday Night.
*** In reaching the semis at Indian Wells in March, the Bros. beat Roger Federer-Yves Allegro, 6-2, 6-0, and they followed that up with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Nadal-Lopez. It was their fourth doubles win over Federer and third win over Nadal.
*** Mike 'n Bob flew to Monte Carlo on Sunday and they will play their next week. The following week they continue playing the claycourt season in Barcelona, Rome, Munich, Madrid, Dusseldorf, and finally Paris for the French Open. Then they'll fly over the English Channel to begin the grasscourt season at Queens and then Wimbledon. That will be followed by the aforementioned Davis Cup tie at Croatia on Indoor Clay. They'll be in Europe for 13 straight weeks before coming back to the US for the World Team Tennis season. They will again play four matches for the Kansas City Explorers as Marquee Players.
*** They will play the Summer hardcourt season in the US at stops in Los Angeles, Washington DC, Montreal, and Cincy, before going on to New York for the US Open.