Monday, October 31, 2011

Bryan brothers end drought with Vienna title

   It was an eternity for the Bryan brothers.
   The top seeds and former Stanford All-Americans won their first title since Wimbledon, beating second-seeded Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor 7-6 (10), 6-3 Sunday in the $905,000 Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
   It was the seventh title of the year and record 74th overall for the Bryans, the 33-year-old identical twin sons of longtime Capitals coach Wayne Bryan. Both teams already had qualified for next month's Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.
   "It feels good to get back in the winner's circle," Mike Bryan said on the ATP World Tour's Web site. "We haven't won a title since Wimbledon. Hopefully, it bodes well for the rest of the indoor season, and hopefully we continue playing well and build toward London."
   The Bryans had gone six tournaments without a crown since winning their second Wimbledon title in July. Included in the drought was an opening-round loss in the U.S. Open, the first time they had fallen that early in a Grand Slam tournament in 10 years.
   The pair almost lost in the first round in Vienna, too, saving one match point in a 6-7 (9), 7-6 (4), 11-9 tiebreak victory over Christopher Kas of Germany and Alexander Peya of Austria. The Bryans played in Vienna for the first time since losing in the first round of their inaugural appearance in 200
   "It feels good to come back to Vienna since we haven't been back since 2002," Mike said. "I thought we played really well all week. We escaped a scare in the first round and felt we had no pressure the rest of the week. I thought today was great tennis and it came down to a few points in that first-set tiebreaker and we had a little luck and carried the momentum."
   During a break after the U.S. Open, the Bryans visited San Quentin State Prison near San Francisco last month. In other words, they went from a Slam to the slammer. To read about the experience, go to: www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2011/09/Features/Bryans-Put-On-Clinic-At-San-Quentin-Prison.aspx.
   Ex-Capital wins title -- Third-seeded Michelle Larcher De Brito of Portugal beat eighth-seeded Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 6-3, 6-2 to win the Puerto Rico $25,000 Women's Challenger in Bayamon.
   It was the second career singles title for the 18-year-old Larcher De Brito, a former Sacramento Capital. She also won a $25,000 tournament in Rancho Santa Fe in February.
   At 14 in 2007, Larcher De Brito helped the Capitals win the last of their record six World  TeamTennis titles. She was the youngest player in WTT history at the time, but 14-year-old Madison Keys of the Philadelphia Freedoms surpassed her by 19 days in 2009.
   The 5-foot-10 Keys, who reached the second round of the U.S. Open in August, is considered the top prospect in U.S. women's tennis.
   Hewitt, Sock in SAP Open -- Former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt and promising American teenager Jack Sock accepted wild cards into the 2012 SAP Open in San Jose, tournament officials announced.
   Hewitt, a 30-year-old Australian, reached No. 1 in the world 10 years ago and won the SAP Open in 2002. Sock, a 19-year-old resident of Overland Park, Kan., won this year's U.S. Open mixed doubles title with Melanie Oudin and reached the singles quarterfinals and doubles final at last month's $100,000 Sacramento Challenger.
   They will join defending champion Milos Raonic of Canada, three-time SAP Open champion Andy Roddick of Austin, Texas, 10th-ranked Gael Monfils of France, former world No. 4 James Blake of Tampa, Fla., and San Francisco native Sam Querrey in the SAP Open, scheduled for Feb. 13-19 at HP Pavilion.
   Tennis legend John McEnroe is scheduled to headline a doubles exhibition match on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.
   For more information, go to http://www.sapopentennis.com/.
TEB BNP PARIBAS WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS
In Istanbul
Singles final
   Petra Kvitova (3), Czech Republic, def. Victoria Azarenka (4), Belarus, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
Doubles final
   Liezel Huber, Houston, and Lisa Raymond (2), Wayne, Pa., def. Kveta Peschke, Czech Republic, and Katarina Srebotnik (1), Slovenia, 6-4, 6-4.


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