Q&A with Bob and Mike Bryan
Originally published on: 13/12/12 00:00
You tied John Newcombe and Tony Roche for the most Grand Slam team titles in history at the US Open, do you view records as targets at this stage of your career?
We are very proud of the records we have achieved but they aren’t targets for us. We go into every single tournament looking to win, whether it’s a smaller tournament or a Grand Slam. We’re really proud of the records we break but it’s not something we go into tournaments hoping to achieve.
You won Olympic gold in London in a draw that contained a host of top singles players. Did that make the achievement all the more satisfying?
We love it when the top singles players are in the draw. It’s always a great challenge to play some of the best players of all time. It really makes winning even more satisfying.
You said after London 2012 that you could shut your careers down and be happy for the rest of your lives. Now the dust has settled on that triumph, is Rio a genuine target? Winning the Olympic gold has legitimately been the proudest moment of our career so far and it would be so amazing if we were able to win another one. We are definitely going to try our best to get the gold in Rio, but we have a lot of time before that can happen. The key will be to stay healthy and fit since we’re in our mid-thirties now.
Where do you keep your Olympic medals and how often do you wear them?
We keep them on us 24/7 and bring them just about everywhere we go! We don’t wear them around our neck too often, but the medals have definitely made themselves at home in our pockets.
You recently played at The O2 where there’s a big emphasis on music. What song would you each choose to walk out of the tunnel to?
Mike: Welcome to the Jungle.
Bob: Eye of the Tiger.
Bob’s daughter, Micaela, is raking in the followers on Twitter. What happens if she gets more followers than you guys?
It’s not a matter of if it happens; it’s when it happens. It’s incredible to see how many new followers she gets each day.
Are you playing a little less music these days, Bob?
Bob: Micaela’s arrival has definitely cut into my free time, but I wouldn’t change that for anything. I’ll take spending time with my daughter over music any day!
If you could tinker with the rules of the doubles game, what would you change?
Over the past few years, significant changes have already been made to the game like no-ad scoring and a 10-point match tiebreak for the third set. It’s made the game more fan-friendly and has allowed more singles players to play doubles. Ultimately, it’s made doubles more popular which is something we’ve always been in favour of.
You threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Cincinnati Reds baseball game this August. Are there any other sports you would love to be a part of on the big stage?
We are crazy about anything Stanford [University] and jump at any chance we have to support the Cardinals. We would also love to be a part of a Lakers [basketball] game. We are both huge Kobe [Bryant] fans!
Bob and Mike Bryan are brand ambassadors for K-SWISS
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