LONDON (Reuters) - Twice former champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan hit form at the right moment on Friday to ease into the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals.
The American twins beat Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach 6-3 6-4 to record the victory they needed and send the Polish/Austrian duo home by virtue of a better sets ratio after both pairs ended with two wins.
Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram topped Group B after a straight-sets win over Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes.
"We played a good match," Mike Bryan told reporters. "Those guys are good. They played us tough last time. They were up 6-0, 2-0 last time we played them.
"We knew to expect a tough match. I thought we played our best match of the tournament, did everything really well."
The Bryans face India's Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles of the Bahamas in the semi-final on Saturday, the pair they beat to win this year's Australian Open final.
Should the Americans win that and Sunday's final they would end the year as the world's top-ranked team.
"Right now we're just trying to win the tournament. You know, we are gritting our teeth a little more out there. But you throw number one on top, it's extra motivation to push on every point," said Bob Bryan.
Story Copyright 2009, Reuters
Photo Copyright 2009, Getty Images
Mardy Fish gave American fans something to cheer about early on Thursday as he reached the third round of the U.S. Open with a 7-5 6-0 6-2 victory over Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas.
Mark Teixeira hit his 30th home run of the season -- a three-run shot -- as the Yankees lit up Oakland pitching for three home runs for the second straight game in a 9-3 victory.
E-Mail
Print
