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BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALSNovember 25, 2010Bob BryanMike BryanLONDON, ENGLAND BRYAN-BRYAN/Dlouhy-Paes THE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. Could you talk about your performance today in the match? MIKE BRYAN: Yeah, it was good to get out there today, especially after what happened a few days ago. We kind of wanted to make up for letting that one go. I thought we played a good match. It was almost a do-or-die situation. I thought we did everything well. We served. We got an early break in each set, so it didn't ever really get hairy. I thought we did the basics well. Q. Can you talk about your season as a whole, coming to the final few matches now. BOB BRYAN: Well, you know, last year was a tough year in a lot of ways. We came in here pretty dejected one year ago. To lose the first match in straight sets, then having to get through the whole tournament, win the tournament, then need a little help from Nestor/Zimonjic was just a miracle. It was probably the biggest match we've ever won. Took a lot of pressure off going into the new year. We had brighter eyes. We probably would have gone into 2010 with a little bit of burn. But we feel like we're playing with the house's chips a little bit. Started great in Australia, beating our biggest rivals there. Winning 600 matches was a big milestone in Delray, tying the Woodies' record in Madrid was awesome, and breaking the Woodies' record in L.A., our hometown, was the highlight of the year. That released more pressure and we swept the summer, which we've never done before. Incredible summer for us. To clinch No. 1 in Basel. It's been a dream year. Can't ask for anything more. Q. Can you talk about the presentation ceremony at the end? What does it mean to be voted fans' favorite? MIKE BRYAN: Yeah, I mean, both awards are really special, to have the fan support, get the fans' vote means a lot. We love giving back to the game of doubles, and to generate any fans. We love to sign autographs, just give back to the game. So that means a lot. To finish No. 1 for a sixth time is what we play for. In the beginning of the year, we always try to set out our number one goal to finish No. 1. To be seeded here at the O2 in front of a packed house, there's nothing better than that. It was a great day all around. Q. This year we've seen the rise of other teams. How do you see the health of the doubles game overall? BOB BRYAN: I think it was an exciting year for doubles, playing Bhupathi/Qureshi in the US Open final was a huge media spectacle, put the spotlight on doubles, which is good. Those guys are going to be a top eight team next year, they'll be here, which will be awesome. What they're doing for doubles and for world peace is incredible. Melzer Petzschner winning Wimbledon was also exciting, to have a guy do so well in singles and doubles has never been done before. He's No. 11 in singles is pretty amazing. A lot of teams are splitting up next year. I think it will just present some more challenges for us. We'll have to adapt our games. But we look forward to another exciting year. Q. You guys are in London, home of Wimbledon. How does this compare to playing in a Grand Slam? MIKE BRYAN: This is a pretty special atmosphere. There's nothing like it. Indoors, when you have intros, you're walking in with smoke, lights, music, you have goosebumps. So, yeah, I think this is our favorite tournament of the year. We feel like rock stars. It's the best showcase for doubles of all time. We're trying to make the most of it. Q. Most of the good doubles players nowadays are over 30. Do you think once this crop phases out, doubles will be able to sustain that level of play? BOB BRYAN: We've talked about that. These 20 guys are the same guys we've been playing against for the last 10 years. We're all still at the top of the game. There isn't a lot of guys breaking through. It's being repopulated by singles players. It used to be the top 50 guys used to have two or three singles players in it. Now it's half and half. So I think once the Nestors and Knowles, retire, Paes, Bhupathis. I think you're going to see one player, a singles and a doubles player. You're not going to see only doubles specialists, which is unfortunate. You're going to see a lot of baseline rallies. I think the true art of doubles is in serve and volley. That's where it originated, in Australia. You know, hopefully you get Jamie Murray and young players that can break through and take over the reins. Q. Do you think youngsters actually take doubles that seriously because the focus is so much on singles? MIKE BRYAN: I know that we did. You know, today, actually in the juniors, there's actually only one ranking. So to be ranked No. 1 in the world, you got to do well in doubles. That's a good thing for the future. Probably just today they might idolize guys like Federer, Nadal. We had doubles idols, too. We worked on doubles drills. It's a different game today. The balls are heavier, the courts are slower. You only spend a couple seconds at net. BOB BRYAN: Not a lot of kids growing up wanting to be the best in the world in doubles. It takes a weird situation like twins or something, that special bond, to have those dreams. And we did. We're probably the only guys at five years old doing quick volley drills, all sorts of doubles-type drills. Most kids growing up wanting to be Roger Federer, fall back on doubles. They see that doubles suits their game, then they go for it. You can make a great living out here. But, yeah, most people want to be the president of the United States, not the vice president. Q. Do you see doubles skills and the drills you were talking about helping you in your singles games? MIKE BRYAN: You have to be able to come to net and finish off a point in singles. That's why I think some of these younger guys, you know, jump into doubles. You can see their hands develop. Now, you know, we're playing singles guys that actually have really good volleys. Over the last four or five years, they've learned how to volley. If you play doubles from a young age, you'll be able to come in in singles and put away a volley. BOB BRYAN: If you want to win a Grand Slam, you need to be able to finish points at net. Guys are just too athletic. The defensive skills are so good now, you have to be following it into net and putting it away. End of FastScripts |
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