Doubles stars Bob and Mike Bryan defeated in U.S. Open quarterfinals

Feliciano Lopez— the elegant Spaniard fondly known as “F-Lo”— replaced an old memory with a new one on Tuesday at the U.S. Open.

Lopez said his best match on the famed Louis Armstrong Stadium court was a loss decided by a tiebreak in the fourth set to Andy Murray of Britain in 2012.

“Before today,” said Lopez in his on-court interview.

Lopez and Marc Lopez, seeded eighth, beat No. 3 Bob and Mike Bryan, 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-3, in the men’s doubles quarterfinals, leaving on a historic high. It was the last match at the Open to be played on the venerable court as it will be dismantled after this year’s tournament.

If there was joy for Team Lopez, unhappiness was the prevailing emotion for the Bryan twins. The leading doubles team of a generation finished the year without a Grand Slam title, and, in fact, the Bryans last won a major in 2014.

They were incredibly candid in their post-match interview in a small room with a handful of reporters. Rueful about their recent run, the Bryans engaged in plenty of soul-searching after a wrenching defeat, in which they had the momentum before a rain delay in the third set.

“When you deal a couple of years without a Slam, as the competition gets stiffer … it makes you sit back and appreciate what we did for 10, 15 years,” Bob said. “After feeling what we’ve felt the last couple of years, it’s hard to believe that we able to dominate for so long.

“This game is difficult and feels difficult right now, for sure. We do feel like we can get that back. Maybe we’re lying to ourselves but we believe in each other and we do think there are more runs ahead of us.”

These are the types of losses that keep them up at night, wondering about what went wrong. They turned 38 in April and their best Slam finish in 2016 was the French Open final.

“I’d love to say that we’re getting better,” Mike said with a small chuckle. “But, the fact is, we’re probably not.… You like to keep going [up] that way. But you round the mountain. We’re going to fight our asses off to finish strong and maybe go out at the top.

“That’s what we’re dreaming of. That’s how everyone wants to go out. Like Kobe Bryant. Like [Pete] Sampras. The fact is, it’s not always a fairy tale.”

The legendary tennis star Sampras left on his own terms, winning the U.S. Open in 2002 and retiring. Bob turned to basketball and the example of the Lakers’ Bryant, who, in April, wrapped up his final NBA season. The Bryans were raised in Camarillo and grew up watching the Lakers.

“Kobe Bryant wasn’t dunking in the last few years of his career, but he was trying to figure out ways to make those fadeaways,” Bob said. “I think that’s where we’re at right now.

“We’re not slam-dunking the ball like we were in our early 30s and 20s. Do we still think we have some other stuff that can fools guys? We do, but I don’t know if you guys do.”