Bryans Win Their Third Title at Ojai Tournament

OJAI — They dress in the matching, red-white-and-blue outfits of the United States Tennis Assn. junior national team, they are polite and friendly when spoken to, and they pump their fists and give each other high-fives on the court, drawing the crowd into the match, even as they are rolling easily over opponents.

Whenever the Bryans take the stage, they steal the show. Their appearance at the Ojai Valley tournament on Saturday, was no different.

Mike and Bob Bryan, twin brothers who are juniors at Rio Mesa High, celebrated their 16th birthdays by defeating Scott Kintz and Trent Miller of La Jolla The Bishop’s, 6-4, 6-3, to win their third-consecutive Interscholastic doubles championship.

Bob Bryan served an ace to seal the Bryans’ victory, then Mike promptly declared that they would be back to try for a fourth doubles title next year.

“It’s one of my favorite tournaments; all my friends are here,” Mike said.

The Bryans are from nearby Camarillo, where their father, Wayne, is the owner and teaching professional at Cabrillo Racquet Club. Since the Bryans were selected to the USTA national team in January, they have not had the opportunity to play many matches in front of their home-town fans.

Already this year, they have played tournaments in Costa Rica, Venezuela, Palm Springs, Key Biscayne, Fla.; Scottsdale, Ariz., and La Jolla. On Monday, they will leave for Europe for six more tournaments and will miss most of the remainder of the school year.

Although they miss school for weeks at a time because of their tennis schedules, the Bryans study on the road and both carry grade-point averages of above 4.0.

In the girls’ 18-and-under singles division, Alexandra Stevenson of San Diego defeated Brandi Freudenberg of Orange, 6-1, 6-2.

Stevenson, 14, is one of tennis’ hottest young stars and has high aspirations.

“I want to be No. 1 in the world and win Wimbledon,” she said.

But Stevenson, an eighth-grader at La Jolla Country Day, knows there is plenty of time for that later. First, she’s looking forward to earning her first varsity lettermen’s jacket next season as a high school freshman.

She also would like to play at least a year of college tennis--preferably at Stanford--before beginning her professional career.