Bryan Brothers Have Duplicate Goals

From the beginning of their tennis careers, twins Bob and Mike Bryan weren’t allowed to play each other in tournaments.

“This was more of a family decision,” their father, Wayne Bryan, said the other day. “Basically, the thinking was, every young child, by the time they’re 5, 6, 7, 8 and they start playing tennis, wants to be No. 1 in the world. I think every child should dream that dream and strive for that goal, but you can’t dream to be No. 1 in world if you’re No. 2 in the bedroom.”

That decision was criticized by other parents and tournament officials, and it sometimes even affected the boys’ rankings. But Wayne and his wife, Kathy, who also are the boys’ coaches, stuck to it.

Now, years later, the record-setting, 20-year-old twins from Stanford are playing professionally and have made their mark in singles and doubles.

In their first pro event in June, Bob won in singles and teamed with his brother to win the doubles title at the USTA Futures tournament in Waco, Texas, before winning doubles titles in Tulsa; Aptos, Calif.; and Washington, D.C.

Last week, the twins played in the Mercedes-Benz Cup at the Los Angeles Tennis Center at UCLA. Bob played singles before joining Mike in doubles, but was knocked out early.

Bob went face to face against his tennis hero, Andre Agassi, in the first round, and Agassi beat him, 6-4, 6-3.

In doubles, Bob and Mike suffered a similar fate, losing to fourth-seeded John-Laffnie De Jager and Robbie Koenig, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.

Although they are rookie pros, the Bryans were not without pro experience. They have competed for the last three years as amateurs in three U.S. Open doubles main draws and five ATP tournaments, including last year’s Los Angeles tournament.

“We’ve had little doses of [the pro circuit] before, in college,” Bob said. “We had some wild cards and got our feet wet in juniors and in college. Now it’s time to do it full time when we don’t have worry about the studies anymore. It makes it a lot easier, and we can just focus on tennis.”

The Bryans left Stanford in June, after their sophomore seasons, to take on the pro circuit.

“[The Stanford men’s tennis team] was 167-3,” their father said. “[Bob and Mike] ended up No. 1 in doubles and [Bob finished] No. 1 in singles, and they just had maxed out on college tennis. That’s not a good way to grow your game, when you’re undefeated all the time. You need to lose a little bit to improve.”

Bob, a left-hander, had become the first player since Stanford’s Alex O’Brien in 1992 to win the triple crown of collegiate tennis, with victories in NCAA singles, doubles and the team title last spring.

Mike, right-handed, played No. 1 doubles with Bob and No. 2 singles for Stanford, as the team won its fourth consecutive national championship.

The Bryans’ NCAA doubles title was the first for brothers since USC’s Robert and Tom Falkenberg won in 1946.

But now, loftier goals have been set.

“By the end of the year, we want to try and get into the Australian Open doubles,” Mike said. “By the end of next summer, [we want to] try to make it into the Grand Slams in singles without getting wild cards.”

The Bryans have tennis in their genes. Kathy played at USC, and Wayne at UC Santa Barbara. The parents teach tennis, besides coaching their sons and helping direct their careers. For some players, parental involvement can be a detriment. But the twins say they have enjoyed the support.

“It’s good having your parents out there,” Bob said. “It keeps everything fun. My mom and dad take us around sightseeing, and it’s not just all tennis out here.”

And, yes, eventually, they had to play each other. It happened when they were 16. By then, though, Wayne and Kathy figured their sons could deal with the pressure--and the results. Since then, the twins have played each other 16 times and, in brotherly tradition, are tied at eight wins each.

And they say they will reach their goals together.

“[Tennis] puts us in the same hotel room every week,” Bob said. “We’re basically together at all times, and we always have to kind of put up with each other. Actually, it helps our friendship. We go through the same experiences at every tournament and it just brings us closer together.”

Bob and Mike will take this week off before traveling to Cincinnati for an ATP tournament Aug. 10-16 in their preparation for the U.S. Open.