Bryan Brothers Look to Cap Banner Year
© Getty Images Bryans Chase Third Tennis Masters Cup Title in Four Years
Super-Strong Field is Wide Open
The doubles revolution will reach its crescendo at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai beginning Sunday, as the top-seeded Bryan twins (Bob and Mike) seek to regain the title they won in 2003-04 to cap their banner year.
In 2006 the Bryans completed a career Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon and won the Stanford ATP Doubles Race for the third time in four years. As individuals, Bob and Mike are certain to become the first players since John McEnroe in 1983 to hold the No. 1 individual doubles ranking for an entire calendar year.
The top eight teams in the Stanford ATP Doubles Race made it to Shanghai and are divided into two round-robin groups – Red and Gold. The top two teams in each group advance to the semifinals.
The Bryans, who hail from the U.S., are in the Red Group along with No. 4 seeds Paul Hanley of Australia and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe, No. 6 Martin Damm of Germany and Leander Paes of India and the Israeli duo of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, seeded seventh.
The Gold Group includes second seeds Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and Max Mirnyi of Belarus, No. 3 Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Daniel Nestor of Canada, No. 5 Fabrice Santoro of France and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia and the Polish team of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski, seeded eighth.
Santoro and Michael Llodra won the Cup last year over Paes and Zimonjic. The Bryans took the Cup over W. Black-Ullyett in 2004 and Llodra-Santoro in 2003. The 28-year-old Bryans open the Shanghai doubles action Sunday against Erlich and Ram.
The Bryans have a record of 65-12 this year and an ATP-best seven titles. The Californians took home the trophies from the Australian Open, Wimbledon, ATP Masters Series Toronto, Masters Series Madrid, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Washington.
The Bryans have a 6-3 career record against Erlich and Ram, including 2-0 this year. The American twins have a career mark of 11-3 in this event.
© Getty Images The Israelis have a record of 44-21 this year and won four titles: Adelaide, Nottingham, New Haven and Bangkok. This is the first year that Erlich, 29, and Ram, 26, have made it to Shanghai. They are the most successful doubles team in Israeli history.
In the second doubles match Sunday, Hanley and Ullyett face Damm and Paes. The Australian-Zimbabwean pair are 2-2 against their foes, with all the matches played this year. Hanley, who turns 29 Sunday, and Ullyett, 34, have a record of 49-17 this year. They won five titles: at ATP Masters Series Hamburg, Rotterdam, Dubai, Poertschach and Stockholm. This is their first appearance in Shanghai together.
Damm, 34, and Paes, 33, have a record of 28-15 this year. They won titles at ‘s-Hertogenbosch (d. Clement and Haggard) and the US Open (d. Bjorkman-Mirnyi). They haven’t played in Shanghai together before. Paes and his former partner Mahesh Bhupathi were runners-up at the inaugural Tennis Masters Cup in 2000 (l. to D. Johnson-Norval).
In the first doubles match Monday, Bjorkman-Mirnyi battle Fyrstenberg-Matkowski. Bjorkman-Mirnyi have a 2-0 edge over the Poles, with both matches played this year. Bjorkman, 34, and Mirnyi, 29, have a record of 48-11 this year. They have won five titles this year: Roland Garros, Masters Series Miami, Masters Series Monte Carlo, Masters Series Cincinnati and Doha. They were 0-3 at their debut here last year.
Fyrstenberg, 26, and Matkowski, 25, also are playing here for the first time. They have a record of 43-29 this year and won one title: at Bucharest. They were runners-up at Costa do Sauipe, Barcelona, Palermo, New Haven and Basel.
In the second doubles match Monday, Knowles and Nestor take on Santoro and Zimonjic. Knowles-Nestor won the only prior match against their foes, played earlier this year. Knowles, 35, and Nestor, 34, have a record of 45-18 this year. They have won five titles: at Masters Series Indian Wells, Masters Series Rome, Delray Beach, Barcelona and Basel. They are 6-5 in their three appearances at this event.
Santoro, 33, and Zimonjic, 30, have a record of 40-16 this year. They have won three titles: at Sydney, Halle and Moscow. They were runners-up at Wimbledon, ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo and ATP Masters Series Paris. They are playing in the Cup together for the first time.
Masters Cup Doubles Teams Profiles
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