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US OPEN


August 27, 2001


Bob Bryan


NEW YORK CITY

MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. When you and your brother looked at the draw, what did you think?

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.

Q. How would you rate your level of play today against Rafter?

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.

Q. Did you feel at any point that you had a chance of winning?

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.

Q. When you broke in the third set, you looked pumped. Could you have been overpumped?

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.

Q. I don't mean to get too technical with you, but could you explain to us who aren't pros what the key is to getting a winner off of three backhand volleys, off your knees?

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

Q. Yes.

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.

Q. To what extent did your mom and dad have you practice that as a young kid? Was that part of your regimen?

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.

Q. Has Patrick McEnroe said anything to you yet?

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.

Q. Will you stay to watch your brother's match?

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.

Q. Are you willing to just let the tournament decide who the doubles team is, whoever goes farther in this tournament?

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.

Q. How about a head-to-head in the quarterfinals?

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.

Q. Ten days prior.

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

Q. Patrick Rafter, finals of Wimbledon, had an amazing summer, yet he's saying the beginning of next year, "Take a few months off, maybe I'll come back." Is that amazing to you?

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.

Q. If you were reaching the finals of Grand Slams, would you give it 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.

Q. Was he joking with you before the match?

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."

Q. How difficult was the kick second serve today?

BOB BRYAN: His?

Q. Yes, his, but against your height.

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.

Q. This court was very friendly to Patrick.

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 --.

Q. At Wimbledon against Agassi he hit this key reflex volley.

BOB BRYAN: I saw that.

Q. What is it about his instincts that makes him special?

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.

Q. The other week Andre said that Aussies hate to be passed going down the line. Do you sense that?

BOB BRYAN: Agassi said that?

Q. Yes.

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.

Q. Do you feel like if you could have had some of those big breaks today, you would have had a better chance?

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.

Q. Did you and Mike talk at all before if you could have traded opponents today, would either of you have had preferences?

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.

Q. Still?

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.

Q. Has Mike seen him yet today?

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).

Q. You guys are getting Agassi and Rafter. Laura got Hingis. Marissa is out there against Henin.

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

Q. Any truth in the rumor that they rigged it against CAL?

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.

Q. You said you had photos of Agassi in your room.

BOB BRYAN: Yeah.

Q. Not rooms. Do you guys still use bunk beds?

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.

Q. You never quite emulated the Agassi lifestyle, short hair.

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.

Q. Aren't you and your brother musicians?

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.

Q. Does Roddick have a better future in tennis or in rock?

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.

Q. Were you supposed to say that?

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

Q. You didn't.

BOB BRYAN: I definitely didn't.

Q. Do you guys have a name for your band?

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

Q. Where did he meet Jessica?

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.

Q. How competitive are you and your brother on the court?

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.

Q. Goran goes around the world. Women ask him to show his tattoos. If you had to get a tattoo, what would it be?

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.

Q. People made a lot when you were Juniors of defaulting to each other. Whenever the Williams sisters played each other, there's some of that floating around. What do you think of that, siblings playing each other?

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.

Q. Doesn't bring out your best tennis?

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.

Q. Do you think in any way that your focusing on doubles to a substantial degree has hurt you're singles?

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.

Q. Were you guys born after your dad left Miami?

BOB BRYAN: Yes.

End of FastScripts….

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