Sibling Rivalry: Bryans Gear Up for MSG Showdown With McEnroes
The BNP Paribas Showdown is set for tonight in New York City at Madison Square Garden. In addition to the singles event featuring Novak Djokovic take on Andy Murray, a doubles exhibition will kick things off as the number one-ranked men’s doubles team of Bob & Mike Bryan face John & Patrick McEnroe. We recently had a chance to catch up with the Bryans during a press call promoting the event.
When were you approached about the event?
Bob Bryan: Mike and I got the call about this event about six months ago and we jumped at the opportunity to come to the Garden. We both have never been to Madison Square Garden, but we grew up watching our heroes play basketball in that arena, watching Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant have some of his huge performances there. And we’re big music fans and every musician always says that they’ve made it once they’ve played the Garden, or sold out the Garden. We will surely have goosebumps before we step into that arena and play the McEnroe Brothers, two icons in tennis. It is obviously going to be special for us as well. We cannot wait to get started and start playing some tennis out there.
Mike Bryan: I want to reiterate what Bob said. We’re thrilled to be coming out and playing a match at Madison Square Garden. You know, it’s going to be a “goosebumps” type of an experience. I think walking in there, the atmosphere is going to be pretty special. And to be part of such a great event, we’ve been watching the BNP Paribas Showdown on TV the last few years, and it looks like an amazing showcase of tennis. We’re hoping to add to that, and we want to entertain the fans, play some competitive doubles, and add to the World Tennis Day experience. We’re thrilled and excited to be a part of this event and want to thank Jerry Solomon for having us and we’ll be coming out there with bells on.
I assume you had an opportunity to hear John McEnroe’s comments about doubles in December. Do you have any comment on that and will that be an added incentive when you play the McEnroe Brothers?
Mike Bryan: Obviously we saw his comments and it’s not fun to read that stuff. I’ve spoken to him and we kind of aired it out. We’re always doing our best to support doubles and popularize doubles. We’re always positive about the game, and it doesn’t help doubles to have John McEnroe say that kind of stuff, but we’ve spoken about it. He’s got a lot of respect for us and we have a lot of respect for him and we’re not going to go out there and try to kill him or anything. We’re friends, and I think we will probably talk about it a little more in person. It will be a fun match and we’re looking to go out there and show off some good tennis and take care of business. It’s an exhibition and we’re going to entertain the fans.
Wayne (Bob and Mike’s father) tells me he’s as nervous as ever when you’re still out there playing. Is he going to be nervous when you’re playing the McEnroes at The Garden?
Bob Bryan: He’s nervous whenever we step on the court. He’s put his heart and soul into our games and our careers, and he always wants the best for us and I’m sure he wants a W. Usually, he’s watching from the TV room back home or on the computer and he’s always going to the bathroom and doing pushups to get out nervous energy. This one will probably be a little easier on him, but he’ll definitely be nervous.
It doesn’t get any more competitive than John McEnroe, so what are you guys expecting on the other side of that net come Monday Night?
Mike Bryan: John McEnroe is still playing some great tennis. He plays career events all around the world, he still plays the senior tour, the Grand Slams, and we’ve had a chance to watch him play. Even though he is 55, he’s still John McEnroe. He’s competitive and he’s still in great shape. Patrick does some hitting too and he’s playing well and I think it’s going to be some good tennis. We’ll have some good points. John still thinks he can play with us, so we want to show him some of our skills as well. I’m sure there will be some smiles and laughs, but hopefully the tennis will be top quality, too.”
Bob Bryan: There might be smiles from three of us at least.
World Tennis Day is a global celebration of tennis. You guys come from a tennis family, how much do you think a day or an event like this can help encourage kids or families to start playing together?
Bob Bryan: Tennis has done so much for us and we’re very grateful for the life that it’s created for us and it’s taught us so many great lessons that we’re honored to be a part of such a great day and to increase exposure around the world is only a positive for us. We have so many great athletes, especially in the U.S. and to get the rackets in these athletes’ hands is only going to increase our chances at the Slams. The Slams been dominated for the past 10 or 15 years by the likes of Federer, Nadal, Djokavic, and Murray and I think the more days and events like this and the more chances to compete on TV and in person will expose them to tennis and get the rackets in their hands at young ages and hopefully increase our depth in the U.S.
Quick question about your comments this weekend after wining Del Ray. I think you’ve got six titles left to reach 100, is that a big goal you guys have set for yourselves this season?
Mike Bryan: I think that would be a fun number to hit. Who knows if we’ll get it this season or next, but that is a goal—to try to reach 100 before we retire. I think we’ve been playing great tennis over the last few years and it’s attainable. It’s in our sights and obviously we want to still play well at the Slams and re-qualify for the world group in the Davis Cup and we’re also shooting for the Olympics in Rio so we want to play well all the way until that date and reevaluate once we get there. One hundred titles would be pretty sweet so if we stay healthy and keep playing well, that’s a good goal to have.
You mentioned the Rio games in 2016, I don’t want to speculate about when you guys will actually be done competing on the circuit, but I’m curious to know when and if it happens, how do you guys see yourselves remaining active in tennis and also I’m curious about what you guys foresee in the future for your children in terms of tennis … I feel like a lot of people that have children don’t want them to get involved in the lifestyle; do you guys feel the same way about that?
Bob Bryan: In regard to the Olympic question, that’s sort of a date that we set as the finish line. We want to stay healthy and make it to the Olympics, have a good showing, and maybe sail off into the sunset from there. We’ll see how we feel. Who knows how we’re going to feel two-and-a-half years from now. We’ll probably re-evaluate, but that’s our goal—make it there and go for another gold. As far as our kids in tennis, I think about that every day. Bobby Jr. is two months old and Michaela is two, and I definitely want to get them into this sport. It makes for a good healthy lifestyle and I think there’s a lot of stuff you can learn from the lessons of hard work, sportsmanship and fair play. So I’m going to get my kids involved and who knows if they’re going to go nuts and take it to the extreme where they might have an outside chance of being a pro, but they’ll be definitely playing high school tennis and I hope to see them play in college or get a college scholarship.
When you guys were growing up or just staring out on the tour, were there any doubles teams that you looked up to or admired?
Mike Bryan: Yeah when we were starting out, we looked up to Rick Leach & Jim Pugh. They got matched when we were 10-years-old down in La Costa and they were the doubles team. Rick Leach actually stopped on the way to the court and spoke to us, which was really cool. We were close with the Leach family growing up, so we didn’t just idolize singles players. We idolized doubles teams. The Jensens popularized doubles back in the early 1990s. We loved watching them and became pretty close with them once we turned pro. The Woodys and all of their records they achieved, we were really inspired to be like them and break some of their records. But growing up, we loved Agassi also. We worked on singles and doubles which a lot of guys don’t do. We spent at least a half hour or 45 minutes a day working on our volley which you don’t see juniors doing these days, but we’ve always loved doubles and at our first tournament at age six, we played doubles and we pretty much played singles and doubles from then on out, but we pretty much idolized those three teams.
What are you looking forward to most about coming to New York and playing here at Madison Square Garden? Is there a favorite restaurant you need to hit up or a Broadway show you’re looking to see? What are you most looking forward to coming to New York for?
Bob Bryan: We’ve been to New York many times and we’ve seen the shows and tried the nice restaurants. We pretty much have our sights set on stepping on that court and into that iconic arena and being a part of the energy of such an incredible venue and event. Who knows what kind of feelings will go through our heads there, but we’re very excited right now and to hear about the incredible ticket sales. With 14,000-15,000 expected, it’ll be one of the biggest crowds we’ve ever played in front of and we can’t wait for that.
