Bryans survive another three-setter in Aussie Open

Bob Bryan, left, and Mike Bryan remain alive in their
quest for a seventh Australian Open men's doubles title.
2016 photo by Paul Bauman

   Bob and Mike Bryan haven't exactly been overwhelming in the Australian Open.
   But the 39-year-old twins (Stanford, 1997-98) remain alive in their quest for a seventh men's doubles title in Melbourne.
   The sixth-seeded Bryans survived their closest call yet in the tournament, beating unseeded Frenchmen Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-3 today to reach the quarterfinals.
   The Bryans, who have lost the first set in all three of their matches, will face 15th-seeded Marcin Matkowski of Poland and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan.
   The Bryans are trying to end a Grand Slam title drought stretching to the 2014 U.S. Open. They have won a record 16 majors in men's doubles.
   In the third round of women's doubles, eighth-seeded Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan and Peng Shuai of China beat 12th-seeded Raquel Atawo of San Jose and Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany 6-4, 6-2.
   Hsieh and Peng have won two Grand Slam women's doubles titles: Wimbledon in 2013 and the French Open in 2014. Peng also reached last year's Australian Open final with Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic.
   The 35-year-old Atawo (formerly Kops-Jones) has advanced to three Grand Slam semifinals in women's doubles (all with countrywoman Abigail Spears), including the 2014 Australian Open.
   Atawo won the 2003 NCAA doubles title with Cal teammate and Sacramento native Christina Fusano, who retired from professional tennis in 2011.