Bryans Take a Step Up in Class, but Stumble in First-Round Loss

With nine national age-group doubles championships on their resume and a current No. 1 ranking in the 18-and-under division, twins Mike and Bob Bryan of Camarillo aren’t used to losing.

But with a couple of key factors in their favor, the Bryans let one slip away Wednesday in the first round of the Infiniti Open at the Los Angeles Tennis Center at UCLA.

The twins, 18, lost to Michael Joyce of Los Angeles and Keith Evans of Memphis, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), in front of about 1,200 on the grandstand court.

The Bryans, playing as amateurs and given a wild-card entry by the Assn. of Tennis Professionals Tour in the $328,000 event, received overwhelming crowd support.

If that wasn’t a lift, they drew Joyce and Evans, who had never played doubles before and were the only pair that had to win a qualifying tournament to earn a spot in the 16-team draw.

Nobody would have blinked if the Bryans, Rio Mesa High graduates, had been paired against top-seeded Jonas Bjorkman and Nicklas Kulti.

“I thought we could win this one,” Mike Bryan said. “I don’t think we were exceptionally nervous. It just came down to a couple of points.”

Mike Bryan held all three of his serves in the second set and made several big shots.

But the Bryans had trouble with Evans’ powerful serve and the returns of Joyce, who is ranked No. 58 in the world and beat two-time Australian Open winner Jim Courier to reach the quarterfinals in the Infiniti singles last year.

The Bryans broke Joyce’s serve to lead, 2-0, in the second set, but Evans and Joyce broke back against Bob Bryan’s serve the next game.

With the Bryans leading, 4-3, they missed two break-point chances--and a two-game lead--before settling for the tiebreaker.

Down, 6-3, in the tiebreaker, the Bryans fought back to 6-6 after each hit a winning forehand and Joyce double-faulted. But the veterans clinched the match when Mike hit a volley long and Joyce smashed Bob’s service return.

“It’s a lot of pressure to beat those guys,” Joyce said. “I knew it would be close, but experience was the difference.”