Bryans Meet Their Match : Since Being Allowed to Play Each Other After Turning 16, Identical Twins Are Nearly Even in First Seven Meetings

The idea makes Wayne Bryan’s stomach churn. But the possibility looms that his sons, Bob and Mike Bryan, will face each other Sunday in the most significant tennis match of their lives.

Bob and Mike, 16-year-old identical twins, are seeded third and fourth in the United States Tennis Assn. Boys’ 16-and-under National Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich., and have advanced to today’s fourth round. The boys from Camarillo are on a collision course.

The spectators at Kalamazoo College’s Stowe Stadium might delight at such a sight. But Wayne Bryan recoils when his sons battle for such high stakes, knowing how competitive they are.

“Even in practice it gets a little rough between them,” said Wayne, a teaching pro at Cabrillo Racquet Club in Somis. “We’ve had some matches at the club where I’ve wanted to call out the National Guard.”

Until this year, the father/coach never allowed his sons--long considered one of the best junior doubles teams in the country in their age group--to play each other in singles.

Wayne’s intent was to develop Bob and Mike equally and not let one boy eclipse the other, psychologically or emotionally.

“I know I was competitive with my own brother--we fought like cats and dogs,” Wayne said. “And twins, I have found, are incredibly competitive.”

Family policy prohibited the twins from clashing until age 16. The only exception was practice, where the two often sparred in private and were told never to discuss the outcome at the dinner table. But Wayne knew his sons went at each other like tigers.

“When we were younger, we always used to get in fights when we played,” Bob said. “It’s not a normal match. Sometimes there’s a little tension. But now we get along better on the court.”

Off the court, Wayne and wife Kathy have kept the twins busy as musicians. Mike (drums), Bob (keyboards) and Wayne (guitar and vocals) form an oldies rock ‘n’ roll group. “The Bryan Bros.,” as they call themselves, sometimes entertain at tournament dinners. The Bryan credo has always been let’s play together .

From the time the two started playing in junior tournaments at 8, Mike and Bob would alternate defaulting when their names met on a tournament draw sheet.

“The big tournaments don’t like us to do that,” Bob said. “There’s a lot of fans here and they want to see us play.”

In battle, Mike sometimes finds the striking resemblance of his twin unnerving.

“Sometimes it’s like I’m out there playing myself, we know each other’s games so well,” he said. “It’s like playing a backboard.”

Mike has won four of the seven matches the two have played this year, and his feelings afterward are always mixed.

“I felt good (when I’ve won), but I kind of felt bad for him losing,” Mike said. “I always want Bob to win and he always wants me to win. (But when I lost), I felt bad . . . really bad.”

A turning point had come for the Bryans--and the timing is probably right.

Together and individually, the Bryans have won 11 national tournaments and four Southern California titles. The twins are seeded No. 1 in doubles in this week’s nationals and are considered the best 16-and-under doubles team in the USTA juniors program.

At age 8, they won the Southern California boys’ 10 doubles championship and were ranked No. 2 in the nation. They have repeated as section champions three times since and have never fallen from the top 10. They recently captured their third national clay court doubles championship, the USTA Boys’ 16s.

Few challenges have eluded the Bryans, particularly in doubles. In singles, each has won tournaments on the junior national circuit. But neither has won the Nationals.

“Kalamazoo is definitely the most important tournament,” Mike said. “All the college coaches will be watching.”

The Bryans, who will be juniors at Rio Mesa High next fall, won’t have to deal with college recruiters for another year. But many believe they could win in the college ranks right now.

Stan Smith, the former USC standout who won singles championships at the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, won’t argue. He thinks the Bryans have a professional future.

“The only thing that would prevent that is if they lose their enthusiasm for the game or if they aren’t able to develop some real weapons,” said Smith, associate director of player development for the USTA. “But I really believe they’ve got a great future.”

The only attribute lacking at this point, Smith said, is physical maturity. The Bryans are still skinny boys. Mike, a right-hander, is 5-feet-9 1/2 and 115 pounds. Bob, left-handed, is 5-8 3/4, 110 pounds.

“They don’t have the offensive skills that they will when they get stronger,” Smith said. “But they’ve got good hands, good instincts and they’ve been able to compete against the big guys.”

Nick Saviano, director of coaching of men’s tennis in the USTA Player Development program, saw enough potential in the Bryans to send them in June on a four-week tour of European tournaments with other top U.S. juniors.

“They definitely have the potential to play professional tennis,” Saviano said. “They’re awfully good in every respect of the game: Knowledge, mechanics, competitiveness.”

Three International Tennis Federation junior tournaments in Italy and one in France provided another turning point for the Bryans. Not only did the tour expose them to the world’s best age-group competition, it marked the first time the twins had been separated from their parents for more than 10 days.

The boys returned to the U.S. improved players and more mature people.

“I know how to get around now,” Bob said. “I ate on my own. I usually have my mom and dad telling me, ‘You have to eat now. You have to have pasta.’ ”

On the court, they took their lumps. Neither player advanced past the quarterfinals in singles. A first-round, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6) loss to Poland’s Phillip Aniola in Torino, Italy, still sticks in Bob’s craw.

“I would have beaten him easily on a hard court,” Bob said. “That kind of woke me up. You definitely have to get tough back there, because these guys are nasty. They’re big, they’re strong, they try to intimidate you. The Europeans are born on that red clay. There’s no clay in California.”

But the experience quickly paid off. Two weeks after returning home, the Bryans won the USTA National Clay Court tournament in Nashville, Tenn. In the July 24 doubles final, they defeated Alex Kim of Potomac, Md., and Nick Crowell of Amarillo, Tex., 6-4, 6-0.

The Bryans, for the sake of change, occasionally will play with different doubles partners. They played separately in Europe, Mike playing with Kevin Kim of Fullerton and Bob teaming with Keith Brill of Columbia, S.C. The Bryan-Kim tandem reached the semifinals in two of the four tournaments. Wayne Bryan said the temporary split was nothing more than a breath of fresh air.

“It was a change of pace,” he said. “There’s a lot of pressure playing with your brother. Everybody’s out to beat the Bryans. But what Mike realized is Bob is the best partner for him in the United States.”

But now a great singles rivalry between the two is developing--a situation Wayne stalled for as long as possible.

“The first thing everyone asks Mike and Bob is, ‘Which one are you?’ and ‘Which one’s the best?’ ” Wayne said. “We didn’t want one to get labeled the better one and one to get labeled the lesser one .”

With the old policy outdated, Wayne has set down new rules.

“And if they meet in a tournament final, once it’s over we do not discuss it one way or the other,” Wayne said. “We try to de-emphasize that match. The big thing was getting to the final--not winning the final over your brother.”

The result so far has been a best-case scenario. Neither Mike nor Bob has established dominance.

“Four and three, to me, is they’re dead even,” Wayne said. “But it’s tough. (You feel) there’s no excuse if you lose to your twin.”