It took a little over an hour for the Bryan brothers to secure the United States’ 4-0 Davis Cup victory over Uzbekistan. Their curtain call on this Saturday afternoon at Blaisdell lasted nearly as long.
After circling the arena twice with an American flag held high as a crowd of about 3,000 cheered on, a video tribute from some of the game’s greats — present and past — congratulated twins Mike and Bob Bryan on their 25th Davis Cup victory in part, and their amazing career as a whole.
If indeed they made their last hurrah in Honolulu — and all signs point to yes — with a straight set 6-3, 6-4 victory over Denis Istomin and Sanjar Fayziev, the Bryans made it count, as the United States took an insurmountable 3-0 lead to advance to the 18-team championships that will be held in Madrid over Thanksgiving week.
>> Click here to see photos of the U.S. Davis Cup victory over Uzbekistan.
The Bryans won’t be there to play in it; 40-something tennis players don’t age that well. But in this Davis Cup qualifier with veteran captain Mardy Fish and rising stars in 22-year-old Americans Reilly Opelka, Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz as teammates, the Bryans were in the perfect situation to go out with a win. It was made that much sweeter when it clinched the trip to Spain.
Twelve teams did just that this weekend and will join six other nations that had already qualified in Canada, Spain, Great Britain, Russia, France and Serbia in the 33rd Davis Cup championship Nov. 23-29. Just who will be on that squad remains to be seen. But for now, the five USA players who took part this week in the eventual sweep of Uzbekistan were pleased to play a role.
“We are always happy to do our job and we treat these matches like huge grand slam matches,” Mike Bryan said. “And to clinch: We’ve only done that a few times in our career to clinch with a 2-0 lead. It feels really good. There is no more special moment than running around with the flag at home with the crowd cheering. To leave our Davis Cup career with that highlight is awesome.”
As far as strategy goes, the Bryans wanted to get off to quick starts in both sets. And they did just that by breaking Istomin and Fayziev in the first set and holding their own to build a stunning 5-0 advantage. The Uzbekistan pair did their best to make it a match by winning three straight games to cut the margin to 5-3.
But the Bryans held the all important ninth game and then quickly broke Istomin again to take a 2-0 lead in the second set they wouldn’t relinquish. It was nip and tuck the rest of the way, with each side holding serve over the next eight games. The Bryans felt comfortable at that point. They had scouted this twosome and knew what this team had to offer.
As is often the case in doubles, rallies were rare, with poaching at the net becoming the order of the day. The Bryans have played so many times en route to winning 16 grand slam titles, 119 ATP tournaments and more than 1,100 matches together; it almost seemed unfair.
The partisan crowd gave the Uzbekistan pair some props when they finally won their first game to make it 5-1 in the opening set. At that point in the match, it looked like it might be over in a half-hour. But Istomin, who was ranked No. 33 in the world in 2012, got his act together and playing partner Fayziev did his part as well to extend the match to 10 games in the second set before the Bryans took over for good.
“Doubles can be quick-paced, with a lot of fast points,” Bob Bryan said. “We knew they had played together a few times. We scouted them well and knew what to expect. We got off to good starts in both sets. Got out ahead. Looking back on our career, this will be a top-five moment. I just had a great time. Walking downstairs and then just being on the beach with great shops and restaurants. It was really a relaxed, chill time.”
After the Bryans were done, Paul played a quick two-set match with Istomin, winning 6-2, 6-0 to secure the USA’s final point. For Fish, this was a great week to bring the young team together and secure a spot in the Davis Cup championship.
“We’ve got a lot of depth and options to work with, me as a captain,” Fish said. “I think the guys are figuring things out. The guys are putting in the work as far as sacrificing. If we get hot, I think we have an excellent chance of being successful.”
