LONDON?Nobody said that tying the all-time Grand Slam doubles title record would be easy, but Bob and Mike Bryan are entitled to think that this past fortnight, during which they finally equaled Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde as the most successful Grand Slam doubles team of all time, was just plain ridiculous.
The Bryans finally got it done, though, earning just their second Wimbledon title but 11th major overall from the upstart team of Robert Linstedt and Horia Tecau, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (2). That straights-sets final win was the well-deserved, easy bit in what the Bryans are likely to remember as one of their most bizarre?and exhausting?of majors.
First, there was the weather. We all know that when it comes to scheduling priorities, doubles is the proverbial chopped liver. Thus, in the early, rainy days at Wimbledon, the Bryans were shunted around more than boxcars in a railyard. ?The first week, we were on the schedule three days in a row TBA (to be announced) and we didn't play,? Mike Bryan said. ?We knew it was going to get busy in the second week.?
He paused, then continued: ?So second week, one match was two days long, the 16-14 (that was the fifth set score by which the top-seeded Bryans finally subdued Simon Aspelin and Paul Hanley). We were taking one at a time. We were scraping and clawing. We didn't have a lot of time to even think about the next round. We were getting back from the courts at 10:00 at night, massaging, ice bathing, and just waking up and coming right back out to the courts. We played 1:00 and noon maybe four days in a row.?
It got worse. On Friday, in the semifinals against the quality team of Nenad Zimonjic and Michael Llodra (seeded No. 6), the Bryans won the first two sets and, aware that the final would be played in fewer than 24 hours, looked to close the match out quickly. They had three match-points in the third-set tiebreaker, but couldn?t win it.
?They were weird match points,? Mike said of the three missed opportunities.
?We started chirping a little bit at each other,? Bob admitted.
?Yeah,? Mike said. ?We started talking to each other. 'I'm never going to play with you again (laughter).'?
The next thing, the Bryans were down 1-4 in the fifth set. ?We hadn?t broken in an hour,? Mike said. ?So I didn?t think we were going to break again.?
But the Bryans somehow got through that one, too, ensuring another Centre Court shot at glory in a venue that hasn?t been entirely kind to them?they?d lost three of their four previous Wimbledon finals. ?Ten times I think we've been in the semifinals or better,? Mike said. ?It's just getting over that hump, which, I don't know, I think you always need a little bit of luck to win a slam.?
They finally had the luck, as well as the skill, in the final. Their legs were heavy, but their experience was an enormous advantage. The Bryans had a record 72 doubles titles, including those 10 majors, going into the final; their opponents had none. It showed in the one-sided scores, but the Bryans figured they deserved an easy one.
?This is as special as it gets,? Bob said afterward. ?You know, I always thought we'd play our best at Wimbledon, and we've lost three heartbreaking finals. To get on that board again, to have two Wimbledon titles, is really special.?
By the time it was over, the Bryans were so tired they didn?t even remember if they did a single, trademark chest bump.
?We're not phasing it out,? Mike said. ?I mean, I don't know even know what we did when we won. I just think I put my arms up and we hugged, but it's a blur.?
Source: http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/tenniscom-features/~3/nmGxm71X7KE/
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