US OPEN

August 31, 1998

Bob Bryan

Q. You had him that last game that you broke him to go up 5-4; you had him Love-40. He got two straight points. Did you start to thinking maybe it was slipping away?

BOB BRYAN: You know, when you are up 40-Love and the guy gets two points, he has the momentum. That is always the toughest point 40-30, somehow got that under my belt and held on tight at 5-4. A lot of emotions out there.

BOB BRYAN: Down Love-2 where?

BOB BRYAN: The beginning of the fifth. I was up 2-Love actually. Then he got back -- but once I won that third set, kind of get that first set under your belt, I thought I could win. I just said one point at a time it looks like a huge mountain you got to climb from down two sets to Love and just took one point at a time and it went my way.

BOB BRYAN: Oh, definitely. I don't know if I would -- where is he from, from South Africa? Definitely wouldn't have won that in South Africa.

BOB BRYAN: What did I do different? I just kept digging. I kept trying and I got an early break and the guys told me just stay with the guy and sometimes he can go up and down and I basically my game kept improving and that was the difference.

BOB BRYAN: Yeah.

BOB BRYAN: I think I was out there for four hours. I ate at 7:30 in the morning so I didn't have anything in my stomach so I was starting to get a little of the shivers at the end and I was actually going numb, so it was great to win that 5-4.

BOB BRYAN: His break?

BOB BRYAN: Yeah, well, I was up 2-0. He got back to 3-2, that is when he took it. So I was thinking about how I let him back in, kind of pissed me off, but then I started off really pumped in the third -- in the fifth, and he got it back and I was kind of up and down so I just tried to keep focused and stay calm, like stay on an even keel, and it worked.

BOB BRYAN: We have probably played 20, 25 pro tournaments, but Washington was our first big pro tournament as pros.

BOB BRYAN: Turned pro at Waco, middle of June, late June.

BOB BRYAN: You know, we feel that our games can improve out here more than in college. We did a lot in college and I was really -- hard to let go, a lot of great friends, college tennis is a blast, so is the Tour. The Tour is real exciting too. It was hard to let that go, but now we are out here hitting with these guys everyday and can feel our games getting better everyday. It is going to take a while, but it is coming.

BOB BRYAN: Played just the finals at Kalamazoo.

BOB BRYAN: Three out of five, but it was three.

BOB BRYAN: Yeah.

BOB BRYAN: Yeah, I was going numb there. I was actually cramping a little bit in my leg, but it wasn't too bad, so, I felt I had one more game in me, so it was good to win that. I actually brought five shirts. I had a feeling I was going five sets today. I told my brother and dad: I have a feeling I am going five sets; that is why I brought five shirts.

BOB BRYAN: Just let's get a set; make it look good. I was going down fast, really fast. I was kind of getting a little negative and I just said: This is the US Open, let's try on every point. You can't just go down without a fight at the US Open. So, I got that third set and started playing better and just kept the momentum going in the fifth.

BOB BRYAN: Yeah, I don't know if you have the stats of the match, but I started coming in more even though I wasn't winning every point, I was still putting the pressure on him a little more. Actually I wasn't hitting my backhand great that match, but I was definitely hitting it better than I was the first two sets. I don't think I made one. Then I started getting in more of a rhythm. Points started getting longer. I was trying to come in more and took him a little bit by surprise.

BOB BRYAN: He stayed pretty good mentally and physically. But I think I -- just my game went up and he might have gob down a little. He was playing unbelievable in the first two sets. Just hitting winners everywhere and started getting more into rallies and I started picking and choosing when I wanted to come in and got it. It is just -- that is how it went.

BOB BRYAN: Yeah, I am hungry. Blacking out up here.

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