|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
BNP PARIBAS OPENMarch 12, 2016Mike BryanBob BryanIndian Wells, California BRYAN-BRYAN/Nadal-Verdasco 3-6, 7-5, 10-8 THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Can you talk a little bit about the atmosphere there, all the different people watching you guys? MIKE BRYAN: A bunch of A-list celebrities out there. It was pretty cool. We were watching the big screen when we were sitting down ion changeovers and see Mike Tyson, Larry Ellison, Hillary Schwank. Our friend Kaley Cuoco was out there. She's considered an A-lister. It was a great atmosphere just right from when we walked out. It's kind of a special court. We love walking out, playing the 6:00 match on that court. Q. They have torn down the Grand Slam in New York. In terms of an exciting American court that has buzz and rocks, how would you rank that stadium? BOB BRYAN: That thing rocks like no other. We have talked about playing a Davis Cup match there because that would be perfect place. Fans feel like they are on top of the court. The noise really resonates in that place, and it can get really loud. We felt that tonight on a bunch of points. Some of the points we lost, you know, the place was going crazy. Nadal hit a couple of amazing shots. But, you know, the American crowd really got behind us and kept us going, because we were not really close to our best early. Almost felt like getting on the microphone and apologizing at one point. Saying, Sorry, guys. We're better than this. We stayed in it and got a little momentum there at the end of the second, but took us a while. Q. Did you see the wave and did you think it was tighter than Roland Garros? MIKE BRYAN: It was a tight wave. BOB BRYAN: Yeah, it was great. In Roland Garros they keep it going forever, but they were actually pretty respectful. Once we started to play they stopped it. Good wave. Solid. Q. Pretty high profile. What did you think when you saw... MIKE BRYAN: Yeah, we usually don't look at draws, but a couple of guys came up to us and said, Did you guys see the first round? No. We knew it was going to be like a blockbuster. Then our coach told us yesterday. We went, uh-oh. It's never easy playing those guys, two of the biggest forehands in the game, especially on a slow, outdoor court at night. BOB BRYAN: Yeah, Mahesh Bhupathi came up to us. That's the first guy I heard it from. He was like, Saw you guys play the Spaniards at night tomorrow. It's going to be brutal. We were like, Which Spaniards? He was like, Nadal. Who else? Verdasco. Great. We knew we had to be ready for that one. They came out whizzing balls, whizzing forehands like they always do. Couple times they really caught us off guard with the spin and the heaviness. Took us a while to really get acclimated to that speed. Q. (Indiscernible.) MIKE BRYAN: We have been defeated by a bunch of singles guys. We see those matchups week in, week out. We win some; we lose some. I don't know. BOB BRYAN: Yeah, this tournament is very high profile doubles tournament because of all the singles stars that are entered. We're proud of the way we played here the last few years. We'd like to keep our, you know, our record strong here. Especially in front of our home fans. But, yeah. One year we played Federer first and Nadal second round. Nowhere to hide in this draw. Q. Get into the Xs and Os, playing elite players teamed up in dubs versus experienced team like yourselves. MIKE BRYAN: Usually the doubles guys bring a bunch of strategies. Singles guys walk out loose. They are happy to be out there just getting an extra match and they're swinging for the fences. This is our livelihood. BOB BRYAN: Those guys are an exception. Verdasco plays doubles every week. I have to say we were coming up on playing 20-plus times against him. He has strategies against us, obviously. And Nadal, he never takes a point off whether it's singles or doubles. You have to respect the guy for that. You know, he doesn't go out there like sometimes singles guys can be a little bit flatfooted. From the coin toss he's bouncing around and he's ready to go. You know, you're not going to find him playing any loose points. We knew he was going to compete hard from the beginning. In that way there sometimes can be a little different than the normal guys that are maybe looking forward to the next week sometimes. Q. It had been a rough run for you guys the last few weeks. Davis Cup, going down there and getting a point, U.S. win. BOB BRYAN: That's why we were looking forward to that match, because we were hoping that could spark something in our games. That's been missing the last few months. We were really looking forward to getting out on a big stage and being tested, and we did leave Australia with a lot of confidence. You know, we got through a match where we didn't feel comfortable. Maybe that will bode well going forward into some of these bigger tournaments. Q. Looking forward quite a few months now to Croatia, how do you see that tie? Tough time of the year. MIKE BRYAN: Yeah. BOB BRYAN: We're... MIKE BRYAN: We have been talking about it with the team, but I don't think we are going to get tricky. We are not going to throw it on like a clay court or grass. It will be outdoor hard, and I think, I mean -- who knows? BOB BRYAN: That's up to Courier. But there hasn't been a lot of bids yet on it, so once we get our options... But I think it's going to be outdoor. That's where everyone grew up playing, on the outdoor. Those guys coming from Europe have played a ton of indoor matches. They are both ball strikers. We're looking forward to it. We are at the point of our career that any time we can be out in a big match we are looking forward to it. So we will throw our names in the hat. If Courier wants to use us, we are available for that one. Q. Do you mind talking about the tiebreaker? You had the big lead and they tied you. MIKE BRYAN: We felt good at 8-2 or 7-2. I think it might have been 8-2. We felt really good, and they kept creeping back, you know. Couple mini breaks and now we're suddenly 8-All, and felt really bad at 8-All. BOB BRYAN: That will keep me up at night, that one. MIKE BRYAN: In Delray we had a big lead, and sometimes the momentum just shifts in those breakers. Feels like anything you do you're doing the wrong thing. I don't know. That was just great that it ended there at double fault. A Nadal forehand miss. BOB BRYAN: I would have put the racquets in the trash if we would have lost for a long time. I wouldn't have gotten up in the morning after that. We had Delray I think 9-5, and that one stung pretty bad. We needed that superbreaker to go that way. Q. But you were up in Australia and Lleyton gets -- BOB BRYAN: Like I said, we needed that one, especially after that lead. Q. Talk about what happened in Melbourne in the fifth? Was it Macpherson who said to go to the I-formation? MIKE BRYAN: I think our energy shifted there in the fifth. BOB BRYAN: We had an out-of-body experience. You took it to another level, big time. MIKE BRYAN: The energy was totally in our favor. Lleyton was getting jacked. Saw it in replay, whatever that's called. We went flat for about an hour; didn't see a break point chance forever. On grass that's tough. Once that fourth set ended, I don't know what I took, I took a hit of caffeine or something and I got super jacked. I think we won the first eight points of the fifth, and that was it. We just held out. Q. You had a huge backhand volley. MIKE BRYAN: Yeah. Q. In your career can you think of specific shots, handful of specific shots that stand out? MIKE BRYAN: Yeah, I mean, I can look back on our career. There were about ten shots. Bob hit a few of them. Hit a between-the-legs at the US Open down a match point. He hit a head fake against Leander Paes at the Aussie Open on a breakpoint. BOB BRYAN: That was '06. MIKE BRYAN: There are a bunch of shots that stand out. That match I hit a good backhand volley, but that was the first play of the game. That was a standout shot. Maybe tonight that Nadal forehand that went out on that match point. He had a good look. Q. Couple of questions about Indian Wells itself. I don't know if you noticed, but there were a lot of kids in the audience. I'm wondering how that feels to be playing in front of that. They were cheering like it was a baseball game tonight. BOB BRYAN: Yeah, reminds us of ourselves, you know, how many years ago? 30 years ago we were here running around getting autographs and falling in love with the game here. Used to be at the Grand Champions, and saw Agassi on the practice court for the first time when he was young. But, yeah, this place right here is what inspired us to play the game and be here 30 years later. So, you know, whatever we can do to help other kids, we're all for it. Makes us happy. Q. (Indiscernible.) MIKE BRYAN: This tournament features the doubles pretty well. Big showcourts. Seems like the crowds really come out. Doesn't hurt having the top names of singles guys in the draw. People love to see the top singles guys playing them in the clashes. BOB BRYAN: I think doubles thrives in countries that have a great doubles history: Australia, the U.S., Great Britain. That's where doubles is at its most popular. Countries do a great job of promoting and featuring it. But, yeah, like Mike said, you put stars on the court, people are going to show up. Put Nadal out there. Doesn't matter if he's playing mixed doubles or brushing his teeth, people are coming to watch doubles whatever. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|