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By Ryan Wolfington
Top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won back-to-back US Men's Clay Court Championship crowns in Houston Saturday to move to within two titles of equaling the all-time doubles titles record.
The Bryans won the match, 6-3, 7-5, over Australian Stephen Huss and South African Wesley Moodie, a team that won Wimbledon in 2005.

"This event was loaded with top teams - not necessarily the Top 8 but a lot of Grand Slam champions in this field," said Mike Bryan. "We feel glad to get out of this tournament with a title; it really bodes well for the upcoming clay court season for us."
The Bryans' third title in four years in Houston was their 59th tournament victory, leaving them just two shy of the record 61 team titles won by Australian duo Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde.

"Fifty-nine - it's a big number and yeah, we're looking at 61," said Bob Bryan. "I think we can conceivably shoot that down in the next year if we keep playing well. But who knows? We'll cherish every title that we get."

Mike added, "The Woodies are the best and have always been
great role models for us. And we admire and respect them and their record and what they have meant to the sport and to doubles."

Earlier in the day on Center Court, the Bryans were presented with the Ernest Langston Sportsmanship trophy, awarded annually to players who demonstrate great sportsmanship during the tournament. The award is named for Ernest Langston, who served as River Oaks International Tournament Chairman from 1946-56.

"We like playing here - this is a beautiful club with so much history," said
Mike Bryan of the River Oaks Country Club. "We've had a fun week; I wish we could be here every week." Excerpted from the ATP WEB Site. All photos courtesy of c Aaron M. Sprecher.


Fast Facts:

*** The Bros., in winning the US Claycourts Championships for the third time, tied a record held by a top doubles team from the 60s, Clark Graebner-Marty Riessen. Riessen is a long time family friend from Santa Barbara, and has been a great supporter of Mike 'n Bob through the years.

*** The Bryan Brothers are the #1 ranking team in the 2010 Doubles Race.

*** Wins last week included: Ross Hutchins (England)-Jordan Kerr (Australia), 6-4, 7-6; Martin Damm (Czech Republic)-Filip Polasek (Slovakia), 6-4, 6-3; Lleyton Hewitt-Nathan Healey (Australia), 6-2, 7-6; and Stephen Huss (Australia)-Wesley Moodie (South Africa), 6-3, 7-5.

*** The Bryan twins, after their quarter final win over Damm-Polasek on stadium court, did a fast impromptu auction of two of their rackets for $2,600 to benefit their adopted High School, North Forest High, coached by Teacher of the Year, Loretta Hrncir. Some 35 of their players came out for all the Bros. matches and they rooted them on to victory with great chants and cheers. And they wore their t shirts with pictures of Mike 'n Bob saying, "Lake Forest High supports and is supported by the Bryan Brothers."

*** Following the doubles final award ceremony, young Jack Smith came out to present a check for $5,000 to the Bryan Brothers Foundation on behalf of his late brother Alex. Alex had become a good friend to Mike and Bob the past two years as he battled cancer. The Bros. first got to know this delightful young man on a Make A Wish visit to see them play in Shanghai. He also came to root them on at the Davis Cup Match against Switzerland in Birmingham and he sat on the bench there with Jack and the team and he was also at Wimbledon with them last year. On the microphone Bob said, "No one knew or loved tennis more than Alex. He was a great friend and we really enjoyed getting to know him and we were inspired by him." Mike added, "He was really a cool guy and he was so courageous. He was also funny and very likable. Now his brother Jack will carry on for him and he's already playing some good tennis and we hit with him on Monday." Alex and Jack's wonderful father, David was also there and spoke beautifully about Alex and about brothers. Bryan Brothers Foundation Funds are used to help children in need in various ways.

*** The Bryan Bros. Band, featuring David Baron, had two big gigs in H Town. They played a gala sold out party for the River Oaks Country Club on Thursday Night, with famed Texas drummer Joe DeLeon playing with the band and Tracy Park and Benny Rod doing the sound. After wining the title on Saturday Night, the guys hustled over and played a gig at the Alvaro Trullenque Mansion. What a beautiful home and what a fabulous evening.

*** Upcoming events for the Bryan Bros. include: April 12-18, Monte Carlo; April 19-25, Barcelona; and April 26-May 2, Rome.

*** Last week Coach Bryan emceed the Houston Event and he will speak at the Easter Bowl Banquet for Prince in Palm Springs on April 13; the Camarillo Rotary Club on April 14; Corpus Christie, Texas, April 16-17; and he will once again emcee the Boston Champions Series Event on April 29-May 2.

*** Mike and Bob got lots of positive comments on their sharp new K-Swiss clothes this past week. And lots of people have enjoyed seeing their new K-Swiss commercial on TV of late.

*** They played all four of their matches in the prime evening slot and got lots of fan support in a week in which the tournament set a new record for attendance. It was especially great to see so many juniors and High School Teams and Junior Team Tennis squads in attendance. The doubles final was telecast by the great Tennis Channel (Ted Robinson and Jimmy Arias in the booth, and produced and directed by Harold Hecht and Bob Whyley) and will be shown again throughout the week - - - check your local listings for times.

*** Mike and Bob enjoyed reuniting in H Town with their long time pal and Stanford teammate, Ali Ansari. They also enjoyed spending time with Bobby Agosto.

*** Special thanks to Van Barry and his staff and volunteers and the members of the River Oaks Country Club for all they did to make the US Claycourt Championships such a winning event. And we so greatly appreciate Gilly Agosto who headed up Transportation. She did a beautiful job and the drivers could not have been nicer or more helpful. We must also give a tip of the tennis cap to the award winning tennis writer, Dale Robertson, of the Houston Chronicle, for his great and insightful coverage of the event. We also enjoyed working with our pal and PR/Media expert, Pete Holterman.

Bryan Bros. Info:
To get their new CD, Let It Rip, on iTunes: Click Here
Bryan Bros. Band website: http://www.bryanbrosband.com/
Bob and Mike's website: http://www.bobandmike.com/
Bryan Bros. Twitter: http://twitter.com/bryanbros
Coach Wayne Bryan's Book: Raising Your Child to be a Champion in Athletics, Arts and Academics. Amazon Link Also available on Tennis Warehouse: Tennis Warehouse Link
Bryan Bros. Sponsors: K-Swiss, Prince, Oakley, Back Office Associates, Ace Authentic, and Tournagrip.
Agents: BEST in Washington DC.
For more information, contact Tim Yowpa: tim@sportsplus.com or (301) 229-5401.
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