Bryans traded to San Diego in World TeamTennis

Bob, left, and Mike Bryan were traded from the Texas Wild
to the San Diego Aviators. 2013 photo by Paul Bauman

   Bob and Mike Bryan are returning to Southern California.
   Not to live, but to play World TeamTennis.
   The new San Diego Aviators acquired the world's top men's doubles team from the Texas Wild for undisclosed financial considerations, the league announced this week.
   The 35-year-old Bryan twins were born and raised in Camarillo, 176 miles (283 kilometers) north of San Diego, and led Stanford to NCAA titles in 1997 and 1998 before turning pro. They live in Florida, which, unlike California, has no state income tax.
   Businessman Russell Geyer recently bought the New York Sportimes and moved them to San Diego, where the WTT Friars played in the 1970s and '80s.
   The Bryans, who have won a record 15 Grand Slam men's doubles titles, were stunned by unseeded Eric Butorac of Rochester, Minn., and Raven Klaasen of South Africa on Sunday (California time) in the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne. It was the Bryans' earliest exit from the tournament, which they have won six times, in 11 years.        
   Wayne Bryan, Bob and Mike's father, has coached the Sacramento Capitals in WTT for the past 13 years. Butorac played for Sacramento in 2008.
   The Bryan brothers also are scheduled to play in San Diego when the United States meets Great Britain in the first round of the Davis Cup on Jan. 31-Feb. 2. The Bryans helped the United States win the last of its record 32 Davis Cup championships in 2007.  
   Lipsky loses -- Kristina Mladenovic of France and Daniel Nestor of Canada routed Jie Zheng of China and Scott Lipsky, a former Stanford All-American, 6-3, 6-1 in the mixed doubles semifinals of the Australian Open.
   Lipsky, who lives in Huntington Beach in the Los Angeles area, was bidding for his second Grand Slam mixed doubles crown. He teamed with Casey Dellacqua of Australia for the 2011 French Open title.
   Lipsky arrived at Stanford one year after the Bryans' left, helping the Cardinal win the 2000 NCAA championship.
   Mladenovic and Nestor, who are unseeded, will face sixth-seeded Sania Mirza of India and Horia Tecau of Romania for the Australian Open crown.