TENNIS in DEPTH.

With newcomers John Isner and Sam Querrey stepping up to the role of Davis Cup singles players, this will be the first time that the Bryans will be without the competition’s veterans Andy Roddick and James Blake in the squad, a foursome that posted a 9-2 winning record together in Davis Cup.

“It’s going to be a little bit different, it’s going to feel weird,” says Bob. “Those guys have been a rock of the team and we’re kind of stepping into that leadership role. But we’ve got Querrey and Isner really eager to play and we expect great things from those guys.”

Captain Patrick McEnroe’s team will be taking on world No. 2 Novak Djokovic, doubles No. 1 Nenad Zimonjic, Viktor Troicki and Janko Tipsarevic on indoor clay at the Belgrade Arena in what is sure to be an extremely tight first round clash.

Although the Bryans, who turn 32 next month, have always been the older members of the team over the years, they have never been the leaders, so the mentoring role they will assume this weekend will be a new experience for both of them.

“We’ll probably be doing a little pre-match speech in the locker room,” says Mike. “It’s funny being the older guys on the team and having some youngsters we’ve got to lead.”

The Bryans come into the tie with an unbeaten record on clay in Davis Cup doubles. At the 2004 Final against Spain, they won USA’s only live point of the tie before Spain went on to take the title.

Then three years later in the Final against Russia in Portland, they scored the winning point to crown USA Davis Cup champion for the first time in 12 years, an achievement Roddick described as “the final goal”.

What do the twins make of the 20,000 Serbian fans flocking to the Belgrade Arena this weekend? “We’re calling it ‘disturbia’!” laughs Bob.

“It’s going to be tough, it’s probably going to be the most hostile atmosphere we’ve ever played in. We know that the doubles point is huge and it could be the swing point so we’re going to treat it like a Grand Slam final and try to win,” adds Mike.

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Twins Mike and Bob, the top men’s doubles tennis team in the world, donated their shirts, shoes, hats, sunglasses, watches and even underwear – all signed – to an auction at the Zeno/Canon Tennis Challenge 2 event. All proceeds went to the Larry King Cardiac Foundation.

The brothers left Mayor Rick Lott’s house without shoes, in old T-shirts and warm-ups.

“The Bryans were so unbelievably gracious of their time, and they did so much beyond what they had to do contractually,” said event organizer Rhett Rollyson. “It was wonderful.”

Many Polk County tennis players and fans attended the event to watch the coolest tandem to hit the courts in years.

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Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan were crowned ATP World Tour Doubles Champions for the fifth time in seven years after defeating Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram 7-6(5), 6-3 to win the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Sunday at The O2 in London.

For the second year in a row, the battle for the year-end No. 1 ATP Doubles Team Ranking came down to the last match of the season, with the Bryans needing to win the title to reclaim the crown they previously held in 2003 and ’05-07. Last year they lost out to Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic in a winner-take-all final at the season climax in Shanghai.

The Bryans came into the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals with only a slim chance of finishing No. 1 in the 2009 ATP Doubles Team Rankings. They trailed their rivals, Nestor and Zimonjic, by 830 points and had lost their past two matches on the ATP World Tour. The twins were ominously defeated by Mirnyi and Ram in their opening round-robin match, but hit back strongly and played what they later claimed was their best match of the year to clinch the title.

“It means so much,” said Bob Bryan. “It’s pretty much what we play for now. That’s the goal. Play well in the slams, but the ultimate goal is to finish No. 1. We felt like it was stolen from us last year. Now we kind of crept up on those guys and stole it from them this year. We feel like it’s a little bit of a payback.”

“To come full circle, do it in the last tournament, with so much riding on this one match, it’s huge,” agreed Mike Bryan. “We’re going to be talking about this match for the rest of our lives. There’s nothing sweeter than this.”

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Andy Murray agreed to add his vocal talents to a song by former Wimbledon doubles champs Bob and Mike Bryan.

But his first venture into music is unlikely to be a smash – after industry buffs branded it a right racket.

On the track Autograph – about the attention sports stars get from autograph hunters – the tennis world No 4 raps in his monotone voice: “During Wimbledon it really gets crazy. My hand cramps up and my mind gets hazy.

“I sign and sign but the line doesn’t end. Wake me up tomorrow and let’s do it again. Autograph.”

Bob and Mike convinced Murray, of Dunblane, Perthshire, and fellow star Novak Djokovic to lend their voices to the song – released on album Let It Rip, only available on iTunes.

But Edinburgh-based music industry boss Ronnie Gurr – who has worked with top bands like Stereophonics and Culture Club – said: “Murray spectacularly fails to grasp the concept that rapping must have a rhythmic dynamic.

“What this amounts to is nothing more than reading aloud a bad lyric on the plight of celebrities asked to sign their names for adoring fans.

“Never has the maxim ‘never give up your day job’ been more apt.”

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Andy shared a nice moment with his friends after losing the match, giving Bob Bryan a chest pump during the presentation ceremony.

Despite an impressive week together, Andy and Mark Knowles were unable to overcome the world number two pairing of Bob and Mike Bryan in the final of the China Open. Andy and Mark Knowles lost 6-4, 6-2.

Andy’s Davis Cup team mates, Bob and Mike Bryan admitted they had prepared for a tough match in Sunday’s final:

“We were ready for a dog fight,” said Bob Bryan. “When you’ve got one of the best singles players of our era playing with one of the best doubles players of our era it’s going to make for a great match up. Mike and I came out focussed and played one of the best matches we’ve played in a long time.”

Andy is now off to Shanghai for the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.

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Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan will attempt to conquer the music world when the American twins release their debut album Let It Rip, with close friend and accomplished singer/songwriter David Baron on 1 September 2009.

The Bryan Brothers Band Featuring David Baron will perform three new songs from their debut album on the Festival Stage on Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day on 29 August at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the venue of the US Open, in Flushing, New York. The following day, the band will play a special set at The Mercury Lounge in New York City.

“Music has always been a big part of our lives. We’ve spent countless hours jamming in hotel rooms all over the world and it’s been our dream to do a real record. We’ve had a blast making this album and we hope to share our passion for music with our fans,” said Bob Bryan.

The album, Let It Rip, will contain five songs that feature Bob Bryan playing the bass and keyboards, Mike Bryan on the drums, and David Baron as the lead vocalist also playing piano and guitar.

In 2009, The Bryan Brothers Band Featuring David Baron has already performed at the SAP Open in San Jose, the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, the US Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston and at Wimbledon.

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In an historic first round match at the SAP Open in San Jose, top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan defeated Thai duo Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana 6-0, 6-3 on Tuesday evening. It was the first time that two sets of twins had played against each other at ATP level. The two teams nearly clashed for the first time at the ATP World Tour 500 tennis tournament in Barcelona last year

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