Bryan Brothers Capture 98th Career Title as a Team at Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
Americans Bob & Mike Bryan continued their doubles dominance Sunday at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, as they defeated the team of Ivan Dodig of Croatia & Marcelo Melo of Brazil, 6-3, 3-6, 10-8 to capture their 98th title together as a pair. With the win, Mike Bryan becomes the first player to win 100 tour-level doubles titles.
The American tandem won its fifth title in a row and have not lost since February in Memphis, but were tested in Monte Carlo by the Croatian/Brazilian pair. After winning the first set, the Bryans had their serve broken in the seventh game, followed by three straight break points saved by the opposing duo to force the third set tie-break.
The Bryans then jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third set, but allowed Dodig & Melo to get back into the set. After dueling back and forth, the Bryans had a chance at match point at 9-8, and clinched the victory when Dodig double-faulted.
"It was another tough match against a great team,” said Mike Bryan. “We've had a lot of battles against those guys. They've been tough on us recently. It came down to a couple of points in the breaker. The 7-6 point was probably the key point. I clipped the line, hit a nice shot over the middle.”
The Bryans now set their sights on reaching 100 victories as a team, and will continue that pursuit over its next few tournaments. Their goal is to reach the milestone before the French Open.
"It will feel a lot better when we do it as a team. We've always looked at our career as team titles, doing it together. That's the huge goal for this year, to do it together," said Bob Bryan. "Hopefully before [Roland Garros]. We've got two tournaments or three coming up before the French Open. It's incredible to see what he's done. I guess I'm knocking on the door.”
