Bryans' Grand Slam drought continues

Marc Lopez, left, and Feliciano Lopez, right, shown at Indian Wells in March,
defeated Bob and Mike Bryan in three sets on Tuesday in the U.S. Open
quarterfinals. The Lopezes, who are not related, also beat the Bryan twins
in the French Open final in June. Photo by Paul Bauman

   For the second consecutive year, Bob and Mike Bryan will go without a Grand Slam men's doubles title.
   The No. 3 seeds and former Stanford stars lost to No. 8 Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez of Spain 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-3 on Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
   "It's frustrating not walking away with a Slam this year," Mike Bryan told The New York Times.
   The match was the last at 10,200-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium, which will be rebuilt with a capacity of 14,000 in time for the 2018 tournament. A temporary court will be used next year.
   The Lopezes, who are not related, also defeated the Bryans, 38-year-old identical twins, in June to win the French Open. It was the first Grand Slam title for Feliciano Lopez, who will turn 35 on Sept. 20, or Marc Lopez, who turned 34 on July 31.
   Marc Lopez also won the Olympic gold medal in men's doubles with Rafael Nadal last month in Rio de Janeiro. The Bryans, who took gold in the 2012 Games in London, skipped Rio because of concerns about the Zika virus. Both Bryans are married. Bob has three children and Mike none.
   The Bryans won the last of their record 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles in the 2014 U.S. Open, beating Marcel Granollers of Spain and Marc Lopez in the final for their fifth crown at Flushing Meadows.
   The Bryans, however, have no plans to retire.
   "There's no end in sight yet," Mike Bryan said. "We're going to keep the foot on the gas here."  
   Another ex-Stanford star, 23-year-old Nicole Gibbs, lost in the mixed doubles quarterfinals with Dennis Novikov, 22, of Milpitas in the San Francisco Bay Area lost to Laura Siegemund of Germany and Mate Pavic of Croatia 6-2, 7-6 (2).
   Siegemund also beat Gibbs in the second round of singles as the No. 26 seed before losing to No. 6 Venus Williams in the third round.
   Sam Riffice and Keenan Mayo, childhood friends from the same neighborhood in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, played separate boys matches today.
   Riffice lost to No. 13 seed Nicola Kuhn of Spain 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in the second round. Mayo and Lukas Greif of Evansville, Ind., nipped Alastair Gray of Great Britain and Duarte Vale of Portugal 4-6, 6-3 [10-8] in the opening round.
   Greif and Mayo are scheduled to play No. 4 seeds Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia and Alexei Popyrin of Australia today in the second round.