US OPEN

August 27, 2001

Bob Bryan

BOB BRYAN: It was funny because when Mike quallied, he's like, "I'm going to play Agassi for sure." It's always a jinx because you know it's going to happen. I think Craig said, "Don't say that's going to really happen." We were up late at night, scrolling down the computer, there he is. It's really exciting, though, for both of us to get out there and get some exposure on TV, play in this big house. I mean, it's a great experience. If we play Davis Cup, that will help us, you know, for the crowd, for the atmosphere. We just looked at it as a great opportunity, not a scary draw.

BOB BRYAN: I thought I served pretty well the whole way through. You know, I only lost serve once until the very end when I got broken twice in a row. But he's a tough server. That ball is kicking up. I was struggling getting it down. It was just tough. That's why he's good. He never misses a volley. If you're not returning really well, then you're screwed.

BOB BRYAN: Yeah. I mean, I did. I got in the match, I just stayed with him the whole way first, the second. I felt like I had a great chance. But he's Pat Rafter. There's a reason why he's won this tournament twice. He came up with some really good shots when he needed them.

BOB BRYAN: That happens a lot, yeah. I mean, that's happened to us in the past. You get too high, then you hit a lull. You know, that didn't happen to me out there. I came in a few times. He hit some good shots, I missed a couple volleys. I missed a forehand that I thought I could have made. No, I don't think I got too pumped. I felt good out there. That's my first time playing on that court. I've only hit there an hour in my life. You don't know what to expect. It's really intimidating looking up. It just goes straight up (laughter). There's nothing like that.

BOB BRYAN: What's the key to that (laughter)?

BOB BRYAN: There is no key to that. I think it's lucky. I was thinking SportsCenter all the way after I hit that (laughter). Guys are telling me in the locker room that that's maybe one of the Top 10 points in US Open history. It's going to be fun to watch over the next two weeks.

BOB BRYAN: Mike and I always practiced the reflex volleys. We fool around on the grass, dive. Becker did that a lot. That's luck. He hit it to me a few times when I was on the ground, and I popped it over his head. We had a ten-ball rally before I even came in. It was a good point.

BOB BRYAN: No. He's kept us in the dark. He's stringing us along. It's a long time. Ever since we won Memphis, he's been talking to us, coming to all our matches. Calls us twice a week. Came out there, sitting out there watching today. It's going to depend on how we do here. Putting the pressure on us a little bit. Going to have to step up.

BOB BRYAN: Yeah, I'll come back here. I'll go back home, come back and watch my brother. Usually don't watch him too much.

BOB BRYAN: Yeah. I mean, it's hard to say one tournament, it's all on the line here. I think Pat was joking, he wants to have a Davis Cup challenge match after this tournament. But we've had so many results this year. They've had an unbelievable year. If it's their time, we won't be upset. We feel like we've really made a breakthrough in the doubles, we've focused on it. Now the tournaments are starting to come. Won four, finals of one. I feel like if it doesn't happen now, it will happen next year.

BOB BRYAN: I think that would be the best way to pick the team. That would be good. I don't know when Pat is announcing the team. I don't know if you guys know.

BOB BRYAN: Ten days prior. That's the finals of the tournament, I guess, so this is it (laughter).

BOB BRYAN: Yeah. A lot of these guys have been traveling since they were 16 years old. I don't think it's a tough lifestyle. I mean, we're getting a lot of money, getting our laundry done. I think it's great. I'm going to play this game as long as I can. I don't blame him, though. He has to deal with a lot of stuff day to day, you know. I think he's playing great. I think he can go for a good five more years, as long as his body holds up.

BOB BRYAN: Keep it flowing, man, keep the money coming in (laughter). He's a great guy. Off the court, everyone likes him. He was joking before the match. He's not the kind of guy that holds any grudges. He's just a great guy. I like him.

BOB BRYAN: Yeah. He came out there on the practice court like I think at 10:29. I had 30 seconds left. I'm like, "I still have my 30 seconds." He's like, "I don't have a chance anyway, though." "I don't know about that, Pat."

BOB BRYAN: His?

BOB BRYAN: I think that's the biggest thing I have to work on, is the return. His serve kicks up. It's hard to control when it's up here around your shoulders. Returning well in doubles. I have to pick that up in the singles, start returning better. That's the key. I was serving fine.

BOB BRYAN: Yeah, it's a quick court. His volleys are staying really low. It's tough to pass the guy. He guesses right. He anticipates well. He's really balanced out there. I don't know how many volley winners he hit. He hit probably like --.

BOB BRYAN: I saw that.

BOB BRYAN: I don't know. You just feel like he's all over the net. When you have that ball, it just makes you think a little bit. It's hard to pass the guy. He's really athletic. You see pictures of him. He's down low, stretching all the time. He's not missing those volleys. It just makes you think he's going to be there. Sometimes you overhit it. He's just really balanced. He's been serve-volleying since he was a little kid. Now it's just a no-brainer for him. These volleys are just easy.

BOB BRYAN: Agassi said that?

BOB BRYAN: I beat him a couple of times cross-court. But he does, he covers the line really well. I don't know how much he hates it. I'm not sure.

BOB BRYAN: He was on my serve a lot more than I was on his. I was just going to have to take a breakpoint, you know, take my chance right there. If I wasn't going to get it, then it probably wasn't going to go my way. You know, I could have come in a little more also, take him off the net. I don't want to be hitting passing shots all day.

BOB BRYAN: I don't know. Agassi, that's going to be a great match. I mean, he's always been our idol. We have posters of him in our room.

BOB BRYAN: Still (laughter). Still actually. We bought a house. At my parents' house, it's covered. But we've been looking up to this guy forever. He's been so nice to us on the tour. He's hit with us, you know, gave us some tips. Mike is looking forward to it. It's going to be the biggest match of Mike's life.

BOB BRYAN: I don't think so. He came out here and hit with me this morning. Went back, got a haircut. He's going to be looking good (laughter).

BOB BRYAN: Stanford got screwed this year (laughter).

BOB BRYAN: No, it's random. This year, we got tough draws. Laura, you know, and Marissa, you don't know what's going on.

BOB BRYAN: Yeah.

BOB BRYAN: We had two beds in a room at our house. I don't know, when my parents would put us in different cribs, we would start crying. We've always kind of been really close. We had the same room. All this Agassi stuff, he's eight years older than us, we were ten years old when he started on the tour. We were just littering the whole room with this stuff. Probably got his autograph 50 times. He's never got ours, that's for sure (laughter). So, yeah, it's going to be fun for Mike and for me.

BOB BRYAN: Yeah, the Jensens give us crap because they're just rock'n roll, long hair, go crazy on the court. We like to get excited, too, we're enthusiastic. My dad would kill me if I grew my hair out. If I got any tatoos, I'm dead, for sure.

BOB BRYAN: Yes. We didn't have a TV in our house when we were growing up, so we had time to play music. I play keyboard, bring it on the road with me. Mike plays drums. I'm cramping a bit here. So we have a band. We played at Washington. Andy Roddick has actually been singing for our band. He made a CD of all the songs he wants us to learn. He's a rapper. Last weekend in Washington, he sang, "Ice, Ice, Baby" in front of the sponsors. Unbelievable, he was dancing. I went down to his house last week to practice. We went to Best Buy. There's like a keyboard, he was singing on the karaoke machine.

BOB BRYAN: He's got a good future in both. The guy is a movie star. He's got a great personality. I guess, Jessica Simpson gave him her number. He's all pumped. He's going to call her and maybe go to like the music awards with her.

BOB BRYAN: I'm supposed to keep that out of the papers for sure. He's going to kill me (laughter).

BOB BRYAN: I definitely didn't.

BOB BRYAN: The Bryan Brothers Band Featuring Andy Roddick (laughter). I don't know. No creative name yet.

BOB BRYAN: I don't know. MTV called Andy, he's doing a show in September. He's doing the show with Jessica Simpson. She gave his number to the MTV guy, they're kind of hooking it up like through the agents and stuff. I don't know how it works when you get that big time.

BOB BRYAN: Not that competitive on the court. We've played many times. We're pretty even. My parents didn't have us play until we were 16. We defaulted to each other so we didn't develop a rivalry.

BOB BRYAN: I'd probably get -- really passionate about music. I'd probably get something like a music note. I don't know. I would never get one, though.

BOB BRYAN: It's really tough to play against your brother, who you're trying to support out there. It's tough for the Williams, too. I mean, I guess people gave them a lot of crap at Indian Wells. You know, it's their decision. We've played many times. It's kind of like a practice match to us. It's hard to put anything. I don't know, if we played at the US Open, we really tired each other out. I know every shot he's going to hit out there. We're guessing. We both play fast. It just wears each other out.

BOB BRYAN: You'll see some long points. But, yeah, I'm not energized and fighting to beat the enemy, you know. It's my brother. It's my twin brother.

BOB BRYAN: We set some goals this year. We were stuck at 60 in doubles. Tried to do the singles challengers. We just said, "Let's make an effort to get the doubles up there? We have to sacrifice a little bit of the singles, we'll do it. Try to make Davis Cup, try to win some titles." We've reached all our goals so far. Davis Cup is our biggest goal. It would be great. After this year, we'll reevaluate and see if we want to make another good run at the singles or keep doing what we're doing.

BOB BRYAN: Yes.