Bryan brothers back where they belong

By Mark Staniforth
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

(C) 2009 PA SPORTSTICKER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

When Bob and Mike Bryan were finally usurped as the world’s top doubles team in the final match of last season, there were plenty queuing up to predict the American brothers’ imminent demise.

The shoulder issues which had afflicted Bob through much of 2008 showed few signs of abating, and the rise of rival pairing Nenad Zimonjic and Daniel Nestor had done more to threaten their dominance.

The fast-rising new pair defeated the Bryans in the final of the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai to not only deny them another major title but also take over their coveted crown as the best doubles team in the world.

But the Bryans had other ideas.

While the new top tandem of Zimonjic and Nestor was dumped out of the Australian Open in the second round, the Americans breezed to what would ultimately become their seventh Grand Slam title.

Their 2-6, 7-5, 6-0 win over Mahesh Bhupati and Mark Knowles emphatically underlined the Bryans deserved to reclaim the world No. 1 position and for that reason it was a tournament which mattered a lot.

“We’re both really excited to be back on top again,” Bob said. “We’ll take over the world No. 1 ranking again, which is where we feel the best. We feel at home at No. 1.

“We didn’t like being number two. It’s a little bit different being in the off-season as the number two team. Nenad and Daniel had done really well to get there. But it just made us want to work harder.”

The Bryans’ demise had seemingly gathered momentum through a largely disappointing, by their standards, 2008. In the Australian Open they lost in the third round to Bhupati and Knowles.

In France, they were stunned by Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna in the last eight, and at Wimbledon lost to Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ullyett in the semifinals. However, they regrouped to claim Olympic bronze, and a tight U.S. Open win.

Now they are back to their best and seemingly fit, with Bob’s shoulder problems apparently behind him.

Bob admitted the current run of success with his brother was extra sweet given the recent questions that circulated over their top-level future.

“We really cherish each title win,” he said. “There’s so many good teams out there. You have to stay healthy, like we saw last year. I didn’t even know if I was going to have my serve back.”