Top Spin Blog » Bryan brothers

Bryan Brothers Getting Their Due

Joe Samuel Starnes — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:44:22 +0000

First there was the prime-time feature on 60 Minutes last month, and this week a full-length profile by L. Jon Wertheim in Sports Illustrated. It’s great to see the soon-to-be-best doubles team in the history of tennis getting some recognition. It has been long overdue, as the media’s attention to doubles has been relatively non-existent.

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“Ridiculous Hands” — Top Alabama Junior’s Take on the U.S. Davis Cup Team

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:54:18 +0000

Sam Cissell, recently named by the USTA as Alabama’s junior player of the year, also has the distinction of having been across the net from three-fourths of the U.S. Davis Cup team that plays in Serbia later this week. The 16-year-old Cissell and friend Andrew Crumm last year won a doubles tournament that gave them the opportunity to play an exhibition match in November in Pelham, Ala., against Bob and Mike Bryan. The Bryans beat the Alabama teens 10-3 in a super tiebreaker. “They had ridiculous hands,” Cissell said of the 2010 Australian Open champions and the world’s No. 1 doubles team. “They didn’t miss any volleys. The ball never gets past them.”

Cissell, who spent his freshman year in high school living at the Saddlebrook Tennis Academy in Tampa, Fla., has practiced with John Isner. Isner, who won his first ATP tournament in January and reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, now ranks 25th in the world and is making his Davis Cup debut this week. “He’s huge,” Cissell said, adding that Isner’s serve is almost impossible to return because it rises so fast. “I had to jump up to just get to the ball.”

Cissel’s long-range goal is to play for a top-tier college team, noting that the list of universities he would like to play for include Mississippi State, San Diego, Alabama and Auburn. He said if he has a successful college carer, he would like to follow the path of players like Isner and the Bryans, both of whom played college tennis before turning pro. Cissell said the Bryan brothers and Isner, in fact, had some advice for him on how to get there. “They said work hard, keep playing tournaments and stay out of trouble.”

Photo Courtesy of Katrina Trotter

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U.S.- Croatia Davis Cup: Day 1, Blake v. Karlovic, Fish v. Cilic

Joe Samuel Starnes — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:30:56 +0000

With Andy Roddick out, the Davis Cup singles matches between the U.S. and Croatia are expected to be very close. The odds are good that this team matchup could go to a final showdown in the fifth match between Ivo Karlovic and Mardy Fish on Sunday afternoon.

Overall, James Blake and Fish are 5-8 combined against Marin Cilic and Karlovic, although Blake has wins against both in his last meetings this year. Of course, the world No. 1 doubles team Bryan brothers are always favorites.

TV coverage in the states is on Tennis Channel, starting at 10 a.m. ET on Friday and Sunday for the singles, and 9:30 a.m. on Saturday for the doubles.

Here is the lineup from Daviscup.com:

R1 – I.KARLOVIC (CRO) v. J.BLAKE (USA)
R2 – M.CILIC (CRO) v. M.FISH (USA)
R3 – I.KARLOVIC / L.ZOVKO (CRO) v. B.BRYAN / M.BRYAN (USA)
R4 – M.CILIC (CRO) v. J.BLAKE (USA)
R5 – I.KARLOVIC (CRO) v. M.FISH (USA) Croatian Davis Cup team

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July 4 Weekend Special: An All-American Wimbledon Sweep?

Joe Samuel Starnes — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:16:42 +0000

The possibility of a big American broom sweeping the four biggest Wimbledon trophies is still alive at this advanced semifinal date. It seems very likely that the Williams sisters will win the women’s doubles, and one of them will take home the singles crown. The Bryan brothers are favored to win the men’s doubles, but James Blake and Mardy Fish are also in the running. The biggest hurdle will be if Andy Roddick can win the singles, having to best both Andy Murray and most likely Roger Federer. A long shot, yes, but it could happen, and would be the biggest tennis weekend for the U.S. in a very long time.

Even if it doesn’t, the men’s doubles final could be an all-American affair for the first time in 26 years. The No. 1 seeded Bryan brothers and the unseeded team of good friends James Blake and Mardy Fish have both reached the semifinals of the Wimbledon men’s doubles draw, making it possible for the first all American men’s doubles final since 1983. That year John McEnroe and Peter Fleming beat the Gullikson twins, Tim and Tom.

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Bryan Brothers Bag Seventh Grand Slam Title, Third Australian Open

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 13:06:04 +0000

From the ATP World Tour web site: Americans Mike and Bob Bryan captured their third Australian Open crown and seventh Grand Slam championship title as they rallied from a one-set deficit to defeat third seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles 2-6, 7-5, 6-0 on Saturday evening in Melbourne.

A good sign for the American twins looking ahead to the March 6-8 Davis Cup matchup with Switzerland and the Olympic gold medal team of Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka.

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Mardy Fish to Play Davis Cup After All, Subbing for Bob Bryan in Doubles

Joe Samuel Starnes — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:05:14 +0000

Passed over when James Blake pulled out, Mardy Fish is on the team in Madrid this weekend, and most likely will play doubles.

Bob Bryan, the lefty of the twin brothers who won the U.S. Open doubles and have gone 14-2 in Davis Cup matches over the past five years, has pulled out with an ailing shoulder, the Associated Press reports.

The final decision as to who will play will be decided when the draw to determine the order of matches is conducted Thursday. The matches between the U.S. and Spanish teams start on Friday. The Versus Channel will carry the matches starting at noon each day Friday-Saturday, and The Tennis Channel will show replays starting at 8 p.m. each night.

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Bryan Brothers U.S. Open Doubles Champs

Joe Samuel Starnes — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:30:23 +0000

The California twins won the doubles final Friday, giving them six Grand Slam championships and their second U.S. Open cup. The 30-year-old pair beat Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy 7-6, 7-6.

The Bryans already held a career Grand Slam, and now have won a major event in every year but one since 2003. With a few more good years, the brothers are now within striking distance of becoming the winningest doubles team of all time.

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