FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY -Â Avenging their loss in the Australian Open finals, No. 2 seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan took out No. 5 seeds and Australian Open champions Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-4 to win the US Open doubles final on Friday.
The victory gives the Bryans the most majors in the Open Era for a Men’s Doubles team at 12. They have surpassed Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde and are now tied John Newcombe and Tony Roche for the all-time record.
“When you’re in the heat of the moment you don’t want to think about that stuff. We’re just trying to win the Grand Slam,, said Mike Bryan. “And now that we could chill a little bit, it’s fun to have it. We looked up to the Woodies, and to steal all their records is unbelievable, because we idolize those guys. They’re one of the reasons we play doubles. Just to be mentioned with those guys is pretty special. But to have a huge record like the Grand Slam record is really cool.”
Bob Bryan said: “We weren’t thinking too much about revenge today. We were just thinking about playing a good match and executing the scouting report our coach gave us and winning our home slam in front of all these fans that were pumping us up the whole day.”
The win also equals Robert Lutz and Stan Smith’s Open Era record with four US Open team titles. The Bryans also took home US Open trophies in 2005, 2008 and 2010.
An interview with: BOB AND MIKE BRYAN
THE MODERATOR:Â Questions, please.
Q. 3‑2 on them this year; loss in Australian Open was disappointing. Does this make up for it?
BOB BRYAN: I mean, we weren’t thinking too much about revenge today. We were just thinking about playing a good match and executing the scouting report our coach gave us and winning our home slam in front of all these fans that were pumping us up the whole day.  I mean, we’re extremely pumped to leave 2012 with a Grand Slam title. I think it’s eight years in a row now we’ve at least got away with one of them, which we’re very proud of.
Q. Olympic gold medal, Grand Slam, Davis Cup…
BOB BRYAN:Â Dream summer?
MIKE BRYAN: Yeah. Got to finish it off strong with Davis Cup. You’re only as good as your last match.  So we’re leaving tomorrow night, going to get our clay court shoes on, and hopefully help the U.S. out.
BOB BRYAN:Â After that match we can exhale a little bit.
Q. How much attention do you give to the records and how important is it to you to hold almost every record now?
MIKE BRYAN: Yeah, I mean when we’re done playing I think they’re going to be fun to have. When you’re in the heat of the moment you don’t want to think about that stuff.  We’re just trying to win the Grand Slam, you know. And now that we could chill a little bit, it’s fun to have it. You know, we looked up to the Woodies, and to steal all their records is unbelievable, because we idolize those guys.  They’re one of the reasons we play doubles. Just to be mentioned with those guys is pretty special. But to have a huge record like the Grand Slam record is really cool.
Q. After the match did you throw your gold medal into the crowd?
BOB BRYAN: Yeah. That was my buddy from Miami. He has good hands.
MIKE BRYAN:Â Was that Sean?
BOB BRYAN: Yeah. If he wasn’t an athlete, I wouldn’t have thrown it to him, but he’s a coordinated guy.
Q. He’s going to give it back, though?
BOB BRYAN:Â Do you want to catch it?
Q. What’s a realistic number for you considering your age, how you feel, how much longer you say you’re going to play? What’s a realistic number of slams you think you can actually achieve?
MIKE BRYAN: I don’t know. It’s hard to say, but we want to play until Rio. Hopefully we can snag a couple a year, one or two. We got one this year. You do the math. (Laughter.)
Q.  I know you had the medal with you in Cincy; you have it here. Do you take it with you everywhere?
BOB BRYAN:Â Pretty much.
Q. A good luck charm?
BOB BRYAN: Yeah, I actually let Sergio Garcia wear it in Cincinnati. Then he went win, third, and he made 1.5 million in two weeks.  So I think it’s good luck. You want to catch it? Can you move forward a couple of rows.
Q. I assume it’s not particularly fragile.
BOB BRYAN:Â It’s heavy.
MIKE BRYAN:Â You got good hands?
Q. He’s a Brit.
BOB BRYAN:Â He’s a Brit?
MIKE BRYAN: Pass it around. You can get a picture.
BOB BRYAN:Â It’s going to be going home tomorrow, the gold.
Q. How do you retain your freshness? You never seem to change as the years go by. I think if I took a picture of you guys five years ago, six years ago, and you probably look exactly the same as you do now. How do you retain that freshness?
MIKE BRYAN: Ask Doug right here. He’s got the fresh face. He’s like 50 and he looks 30. (Laughter.) We put on sunscreen.
BOB BRYAN: We’re playing a sport that we have a lot of fun, you know, doing. Our parents instilled that love in the game early, and we still haven’t lost it.  I think that’s the biggest goal for parents, should have, is making it fun for their kids. Not just drilling them into the ground, but making it fun. We were playing games, going to tournaments with our friends, having pizza, and just fell in love with the game.  Had idols, and, you know, right now we still like getting up and going to war and having moments like this. This is what you play for, right here, working hard.  You know, we had a rough 12 months. We took a lot of lumps, but now that’s all forgotten. It’s sweeter than ever.
Q. Talk about the Olympics being such a big goal this year. How strange would it have been to end the year without a Grand Slam in 2012?
MIKE BRYAN: Still would have been a good year because we have the Olympics. But as Bob said, we wanted to keep the streak alive of eight years with a slam.  It would obviously have been disappointing, but, you know, we’re always trying to finish the year No. 1. We have a pretty good lead now.  You just take a look at the positives, you know, the Olympics and trying to finish the year No. 1.
Q. What are your observations of the other great siblings in sports, the Williams sisters, the Mannings, and what common denominators other than genes do you see in those alliances?
BOB BRYAN: The common denominator is you’re able to hit with the No. 1 player in the world every day of the year. You don’t have to go search for a practice partner. I think parents have the formula, and they figure out an environment that breeds success.  Why wouldn’t the other sibling be successful in that same environment? We had an environment in Camarillo, California, a beautiful club with a hundred juniors playing tennis and coming to play four hours a day.  We had parents that didn’t come down on hard for us for wins and losses, but just kind of instilled good sportsmanship and making sure we were having fun. They were taking us to exhibitions, Indian Wells, Great Western Forum, to make sure we saw that level and we had dreams.
Q. We have seen some huge chases for Grand Slam records with Sampras and Federer. What is it like for you guys?
MIKE BRYAN: You know, it doesn’t get the notoriety that, you know, a Federer record does. We have fun slipping under the radar. Probably get asked once or twice a week ‑ by Doug ‑ but that’s about it. This isn’t our first time sitting in this room in front of a bunch of media.  But they’re special to us and we talk about them with our camp. My dad definitely he shoots e‑mails to us with all our records and they’re fun to look at.  Then it’s up to you guys to, you know, determine where we stand in history or whatever. You know, that’s what we play for. We set goals every year. This was just another goal that we went after. It’s fun to achieve it.
Q. Do you recall your first major?
MIKE BRYAN:Â Yeah.
BOB BRYAN: Yeah, we definitely recall it. The first major we played?
Q. First major you won.
BOB BRYAN: 2003 French Open, and that was sweet. We went to Buddha Bar and partied.
Q. What did you do to work your way up to that?
BOB BRYAN: I mean, that one just kind of came, bang. We hadn’t been in a Grand Slam final. Been in a couple of semis. We just played the tournament of our life; didn’t lose a set. One set went past four the whole week. It just happened so fast.  And then it took us a while. Once we won the first one it took us two over two years to win the next one. We lost in five Grand Slam finals after that match and took a lot of lumps. Then, yeah, then started figuring it out.
Q. Who among the great sibling duos in sports in recent years have been especially inspiring to you, and what have you taken from their examples?
BOB BRYAN: I mean, Venus and Serena are a pretty inspirational sibling pair. They’re always positive with each other. They love each other to death. They’re always supporting each other watching the matches and the crowd.  You’ve never seen them have a spat. You know, we’re a little more violent with each other behind closed doors than those two, so we try to use them as an example. (Laughter.)
Q.  You guys said before the tournament or coming in that this was gravy after the Olympics. Were you able to play that way? Did you feel from the beginning to the end that that helped, you know, lubricate your nerves?
MIKE BRYAN: It did take pressure off. Yeah, we talked about it before each match. We’re like, Let’s swing free. We have the gold.  But, you know, we came into this probably a little fatigued and just running on adrenaline from the Olympics. We could see the finish line.  You know, this final match, that’s what we pushed toward, and, you know, we have played a lot of tennis from the Olympics.  Yeah, that definitely lubricated the nerves. Nice word.
Q. You have broken all the records and got the Olympic medal now. What kind of goals do you have now? Is there something missing, or just adding to the pot?
BOB BRYAN: Short‑term goal is still win that Davis Cup match, because that’s going to be pivotal to that tie. I don’t think our team has a great chance if we don’t win that doubles match.  We want to do our job there and then just try to pile on some more points and finish the year No. 1. It would be our eighth No. 1 finish.  Then Mike’s going to get married. See how that goes.
MIKE BRYAN:Â Work on your speech.
Q. Sounded like a question.
BOB BRYAN:Â Start it again.
MIKE BRYAN:Â It’s gonna happen.
BOB BRYAN:Â Start it again.
Q. You have given so much to the game, not only in doubles but the sport itself. The passion that you have, the energy, your father’s made you tough; you’re a tough competitor. Is there ever a time behind the scenes in private the two of you actually just have to break down and share a tear of emotion for what you all have accomplished?
MIKE BRYAN: We’re not very sentimental emotional guys. I haven’t cried for a while, since high school. But I thought I was gonna cry on the medals stand.
BOB BRYAN:Â It didn’t happen.
MIKE BRYAN: It didn’t happen. I’m just unemotional. Ask my fiancée.
Q. Do you take a pill for that or something?
BOB BRYAN:Â Zero emotions.
MIKE BRYAN:Â It will be fun to, you know, just share these memories.
BOB BRYAN: We talk about stuff together. We don’t really talk about it with other people. We share it with my parents. My dad gets a real kick out of the records. He has a spreadsheet on his computer. I’m sure he’s updating it right now.
MIKE BRYAN:Â Here comes the star.
BOB BRYAN:Â Bring her up here.
Q. Your dad’s been a little bit controversial this year with some of the things he said earlier on in the year. The USTA of course, Patrick has worked very closely with you in Davis Cup terms on the other side. Are you sometimes trapped between the association and your father?
MIKE BRYAN: Yeah, we stay out of it. I mean, we have a big loyalty to both guys. We love Pat and we love obviously my dad. My dad is very passionate about the way he feels because he owned a club and did a tremendous job with his junior program for so many years.  But, you know, Pat has his views. I’m sure they’re both great. We definitely read the blogs and the e‑mails and get a kick out of it.
(Micaela joined the dais.)
MIKE BRYAN: Watch this. Peekaboo.
Q. Can I just ask, I mean, this tournament seems to have turned into a tournament of players going under the pension line, Mark Knowles being the latest one. Just comment on Mark’s career. You guys came up against him so many times.
BOB BRYAN: I mean, Mark’s a legend. He’s one of the best players of all time. I think Knowles‑Nestor have got to be in the top five greatest doubles teams to play. Incredible backhand return in the deuce court and scary hands. His drop volley would always catch you by surprise. He’s a great guy.  I think he’ll have a successful career coaching. He’s knowledgeable and, you know, if he wants to be a commentator commentating or whatever…
Q. Not too long ago you and your dad, Wayne, a few guys really fought hard to keep this doubles on the tour. And not only kept it on the tour, but you brought it fairly close to the main light of activity. What’s that mean to you all when you look beyond just playing the game, that you made this contribution to the game with your dad?
MIKE BRYAN: Yeah, I mean, we’re very happy with the way it’s gone. Obviously doubles was threatened seven years ago, and we rallied behind ‑‑ along with my dad and all the doubles guys ‑‑ and pushed to have doubles be a big part of the game.  You know, playing matches like this in a packed stadium, you know, it just shows how far doubles has come. There’s more and more stadium matches. It still is an integral part of the game, which is great.  And we always want it to be. When we’re done playing we still want doubles to be, you know, big. It’s never going to catch singles, but it will be right there.
Q. Do you feel more confident with Davis Cup after that match?
MIKE BRYAN:Â Do we feel confident?
Q. With Davis Cup after that match.
MIKE BRYAN: Yeah, obviously when you win a string of matches your confidence grows. It’s going to be a different surface, and we’re going to have to go to work to beat two very good clay‑court doubles players.  We’re leaving tomorrow night. We’re going to get there a week early and we will have some good time to get ready. But, yeah, we’re pretty happy with the way we’re playing right now.
Q. What happens in your life if one of you is born in Camarillo and at the same time another is born in Ventura and you’re actually not twins? Would you still have careers in tennis, do you think?
BOB BRYAN: Who’s our parents? Wayne and Kathy Bryan in Camarillo, or are they in Miami?  If you’re my dad I’m probably sweeping streets somewhere. Just kidding, Bill. (Laughter.)
MIKE BRYAN:Â We would have found each other.
