ATP TENNIS DOUBLES NEWS UPDATE FROM THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN INCLUDING AMERICANS, BOB AND MIKE BRYAN CHANGE SIDES TO OPEN MELBOURNE CAMPAIGN

Written by: Staff on 21st January 2016

ATP TENNIS DOUBLES NEWS UPDATE FROM THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN INCLUDING AMERICANS, BOB AND MIKE BRYAN CHANGE SIDES TO OPEN MELBOURNE CAMPAIGN |

Bob and Mike are in the 2nd round! They beat Guccione/Sa 7-5 7-6 and will face Bhupathi/Muller #GoBryans #tennis #ausopen #bryanbros – Photo by @bryanbros_fans via Instagram.

They were dethroned from the World No. 1 spot at the end of 2015 and had a hiccup at the start of 2016 with a first-round loss in Sydney. Not ones to lick their wounds, Bob and Mike Bryan decided to change things up as they began their Australian Open campaign, pulling the ‘switcheroo’.

The change in tactic – with Mike switching to the deuce court and Bob on the Ad side – brought the 37-year-old twins a 7-5, 7-6(4) first-round win over Chris Guccione and Andre Sa. But were their opponents surprised by the change in formation?

“They didn’t seem too surprised!” Mike told ATPWorldTour.com. “We actually warmed up on the other side to try and trick them and when they looked up to serve, they didn’t do a double take, so I think they were kind of expecting it. A couple of guys were practising next to us and it circulates pretty fast. It’s like high school gossip, it spreads like wildfire!

“I think 2010 was the last time we played that way consistently. It worked today. We got some returns going and had a lot more options with the second shot. That’s what we’re going to do this week and probably continue into the rest of the year.”

Bob added, “Guccione was serving bombs and Sa is one of the best returners out there. It was a tough game and we’re happy to get through.”

Getting ready for some Byan brothers doubles..go USA! #bryanbrothers #australianopen2016 @bryanbros – Photo by @michellefro66 via Instagram.

The team to take over the No. 1 mantle from the Bryans, Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, also made a winning start, beating Martin Klizan and Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-5, 6-2. “They broke us on our second service game, but after that we didn’t face any more break points and started getting more opportunities on our return games and managed to convert at the end of the first set,” said Tecau.

“Once we got that first break, we kept the energy and the momentum and got another break the next game. The second set went better for us. Overall, it just took us a while to get into a good rhythm, but we’re very happy with this match because it was a tricky match-up against two guys who can come up with crazy shots that you don’t usually see on the doubles court.”

Fourth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea – runners-up at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals last year – quietened the home support as they defeated Nick Kyrgios and Omar Jasika 7-5, 6-3. “It was not an easy match playing the local players,” said Bopanna. “We didn’t play great, but found a way to keep hanging in there and come out with a win.

“The atmosphere was fantastic and it’s brilliant to see how the Aussie players get great support and it was great to play in a packed stadium.”

Sixth seeds and last year’s runners-up Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut cruised through their opener, dismissing Nicholas Monroe and Hans Podlipnik-Castillo 6-1, 6-4. They were joined in the second round by seventh seeds and last week’s Sydney champions, Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, who beat Jonathan Marray and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 6-3, 6-4.

Other first-round winners on Thursday included eighth seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers, 10th seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski, and 11th seeds Dominic Inglot and Robert Lindstedt.

( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/bryans-doubles-2016-australian-open-thursday )

Topics: Andre Sa, Atp, Atp World Tour, Australian Open, Bryan Brothers, Chris Guccione, Doubles tennis, Florin Mergea, Horia Tecau, Jean-Julien Rojer, Melbourne, Rohan Bopanna, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News