TENNIS OJAI TOURNAMENT : Twin Victories Give Hernandez Boys’ 14 Title

A gust of wind blew across the court at Libbey Park. Would it take 12-year-old Mike Bryan with it?

Bryan held firm, his nightly milkshake-aided weight of 72 pounds barely covering a narrow 5-foot-3 frame as he stood in against Alejandro Hernandez in Saturday’s boys’ 14 final of the Ojai tennis tournament.

Mike Bryan is two minutes older, but not an ounce heavier than twin brother Bob and not any luckier, either. Hernandez worked his way through the Bryan brothers to win the age group title by beating Bob in a morning semifinal and Mike in an afternoon final, 7-5, 6-1.

Dad Wayne Bryan was philosophical: “That’s probably the best thing that could happen, otherwise the other one is hot for a week.”

The elder Bryan and wife Kathy run the Camarillo Racket Club, where they train their sons to play tennis and to eat. It just seems that Mike can’t gain any weight, Kathy said, shaking her head.

What do you feed to beef up a preteen?

“Raw meat?” Kathy said.

Hernandez has just the opposite problem, according to father Alex Hernandez.

“Weight, that’s Alex’s major problem for sure,” said Hernandez, who was Mexican Davis Cup Captain Raul Ramirez’s top assistant.

The younger Hernandez, 14, is a junior high school student in San Diego and will soon move out of Mike and Bob Bryan’s age group. The Bryan twins turn 13 Monday.

Hernandez, who went to La Jolla High with his longtime friend Ramirez, says the age group his son is leaving will be dominated by the Bryans, one or the other.

“With the weight they have, they hit the ball so hard,” the elder Hernandez said. “Once they develop some muscle . . . boy!”

The Bryans are ranked in the top three of the 14s in Southern California and are pretty much equal in ability, Wayne Bryan said.

“We’ve been giving that pat answer since they were 3,” Bryan said. “They both think they’re the best. They’re sort of competitive.”

At the end of Mike’s match, Bob escorted him off the court, but not until after Mike squirted him with his water bottle. Bob wore Mike’s runner-up medal.

Kathy and Wayne Bryan watched and smiled.

“We don’t want to be Type-A tennis parents,” Wayne Bryan said. “We tell them that out on the court they can perform any way they want. They can tank, choke, play terrible, whatever. Just be a good sport or we’ll raise holy hell.”

Alex Hernandez, who said he is looking for a coach for his son, said the entire Bryan family seems to carry itself well.

“They go on the court, they win, they lost, it’s OK,” he said. “What more can you ask?”

Another milkshake?

Today’s Pacific 10 men’s and women’s singles championships look fairly routine, with Stanford having three of the four finalists.

In the men’s, it’s Stanford vs. Stanford. In the women’s, it’s UCLA vs. Stanford.

Alex O’Brien defeated Stanford teammate Jason Yee, 6-4, 6-3, and will play Jonathan Stark, also of Stanford, in today’s final. Stark defeated David Nainkin of UCLA, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

Kimberly Po of UCLA defeated Kirsten Dreyer of UCLA, 6-0, 6-0, in the semifinals and will play Sandra Birch, of Stanford. Birch beat UCLA’s Stella Sampras, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2), in the semifinals.