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Bryan brothers do Uncle Sam proud against Austria
Uncasville, Feb 08: The Bryan twins clinched the victory for the United States over Austria.
Uncasville, Feb 08: The Bryan twins clinched the victory for the United States over Austria.
Twins Mike and Bob Bryan clinched a Davis Cup quarter-final place for the U.S. crushing Austria's Jurgen Melzer and Julian Knowle 6-2 6-1 6-4 on Saturday. The Bryans, the world's top ranked doubles team, took just one hour 25 minutes to dismiss the Austrian challenge and give the U.S. an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the World Group first round tie. Aiming for their first Davis Cup title since 1995, the Americans meet either holders Australia or Sweden in the last eight.
Austria captain Gunter Bresnik confirmed afterwards he would step down after the reverse singles rubbers are completed on Sunday.
U.S. captian Pat McEnroe insisted he felt no relief at the easy passage, even though the U.S. had lost in the first round last year under his leadership.
His surprise decision on Friday to install Robby Ginepri as the second singles player behind world number three Andy Roddick paid dividends.
Ginepri, making his Davis Cup debut, came back from two sets down to beat Melzer 6-7 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-2 before Roddick doubled their lead with a 6-4 6-4 6-2 demolition of Stefan Koubek.
Roddick, the U.S. Open champion and former world number one, set a world record for the fastest serve against Koubek, clocking 150 mph (241.4 kph) on the speed gun.
Koubek's reaction afterwards -- the left-hander said he found it "annoying" to face such huge deliveries -- highlighted why Roddick will be the pillar of McEnroe's team.
But the 25-year-old Bryans, this year's Australian Open runners-up, will provide excellent additional support.
At 6-2 5-0 in the doubles rubber it looked as though they wanted to humiliate their opponents, but Melzer and Knowle rescued a little dignity in the third set.
They even broke back to level at 4-4, before Bryan and Bryan regained concentration to secure the next two games, the rubber and the tie.
Bureau Report
Twins Mike and Bob Bryan clinched a Davis Cup quarter-final place for the U.S. crushing Austria's Jurgen Melzer and Julian Knowle 6-2 6-1 6-4 on Saturday. The Bryans, the world's top ranked doubles team, took just one hour 25 minutes to dismiss the Austrian challenge and give the U.S. an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the World Group first round tie. Aiming for their first Davis Cup title since 1995, the Americans meet either holders Australia or Sweden in the last eight.
Austria captain Gunter Bresnik confirmed afterwards he would step down after the reverse singles rubbers are completed on Sunday.
U.S. captian Pat McEnroe insisted he felt no relief at the easy passage, even though the U.S. had lost in the first round last year under his leadership.
His surprise decision on Friday to install Robby Ginepri as the second singles player behind world number three Andy Roddick paid dividends.
Ginepri, making his Davis Cup debut, came back from two sets down to beat Melzer 6-7 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-2 before Roddick doubled their lead with a 6-4 6-4 6-2 demolition of Stefan Koubek.
Roddick, the U.S. Open champion and former world number one, set a world record for the fastest serve against Koubek, clocking 150 mph (241.4 kph) on the speed gun.
Koubek's reaction afterwards -- the left-hander said he found it "annoying" to face such huge deliveries -- highlighted why Roddick will be the pillar of McEnroe's team.
But the 25-year-old Bryans, this year's Australian Open runners-up, will provide excellent additional support.
At 6-2 5-0 in the doubles rubber it looked as though they wanted to humiliate their opponents, but Melzer and Knowle rescued a little dignity in the third set.
They even broke back to level at 4-4, before Bryan and Bryan regained concentration to secure the next two games, the rubber and the tie.
Bureau Report