Roundup: Bryans to retire after 2020 U.S. Open

Bob Bryan, left, and Mike Bryan have won a record 16 Grand
Slam men's doubles titles. 2016 photo by Paul Bauman

   Former Stanford stars Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, generally considered the greatest doubles team in history, announced today that they will retire after the 2020 U.S. Open.
   The 41-year-old identical twins have won a record 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles, an Open Era-record 118 trophies (including four in the ATP Finals) and an Olympic gold medal (2012 London). They also helped the United States win the Davis Cup championship in 2007.
   The Bryans spent 438 weeks and ended 10 seasons as the No. 1 team (2003, 2005-07, 2009-14). Mike Bryan became the oldest No. 1 at age 40 on July 16, 2018, and holds the record of 506 weeks at the top of the rankings.
   Overall, the Bryans have a 1,102-358 (.755) match record.
   "Mike and I chose to finish our 2019 season after the U.S. Open, even knowing there was a strong chance we'd qualify for the ATP Finals," Bob Bryan said on atptour.com. "After much discussion, we decided that it would be best to rest our minds and strengthen our bodies in preparation for 2020, which will be our final season on the ATP Tour.
   "For the last 21 years, we have been so grateful for the opportunity to live out our dreams of playing professional tennis. It has truly been a magical ride. However, we want to end this great ride while we're healthy and we can still compete for titles."
   Mike Bryan said: "We are currently extremely motivated and excited going into our last season. We will enjoy and appreciate each moment we have while saying our goodbyes and giving thanks to the fans who have given us so much joy."
   Bob Bryan underwent right hip surgery in August 2018 and returned at the beginning of 2019. The brothers won two titles this year, in Delray Beach and Miami. After reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, they lost in the third round of the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
   The Bryans played at Stanford in 1997 and 1998, helping the Cardinal win the NCAA team championship each year. Bob Bryan achieved a rare Triple Crown in 1998, sweeping the NCAA singles, doubles (with Mike) and team titles.
   Stanford students are not allowed to choose roommates. The Bryans were given rooms on opposite sides of campus, but Bob brought a mattress to Mike's dorm and slept on the floor.
   The Bryans' father, Wayne Bryan, coached the now-defunct Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis for 12 years (2002-13). He led Sacramento to two WTT titles (2002 and 2007) and was named the league's Coach of the Year three times (2004-06).
   Oracle Challenger Series in Houston – Second seed and defending champion Bradley Klahn, a 29-year-old Stanford graduate, and 13th-seeded Jenson Brooksby, 19, of Carmichael in the Sacramento area won their second-round matches.
   Klahn, a left-hander who won the 2010 NCAA singles title, defeated Filip Cristian Jianu, 18, of Romania 7-5, 6-3. Brooksby outclassed Gonzalo Villanueva of Argentina 6-2, 6-2.
   Klahn is set to face 14th-seeded Michael Mmoh, 21, of Bradenton, Fla., on Thursday at about 3 p.m. PST (live stream). Klahn leads the head-to-head series 2-0, both three-set matches in 2017.
   Mmoh won last week's $54,160 Knoxville Challenger after being defaulted from his second-round match in the $54,160 Charlottesville Challenger the previous week for throwing his racket and hitting a line judge.
   Brooksby will meet fourth-seeded Marcos Giron of Thousand Oaks in the Los Angeles region for the first time at about 5 p.m.
   Giron, the 2014 NCAA singles champion from UCLA, topped Brandon Holt, the son of International Tennis Hall of Famer Tracy Austin, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (7), 6-2. Holt, a USC senior, trailed 5-0 in the second set and saved 11 match points.
   Collin Altamirano, 23, of Sacramento lost to 11th-seeded Adrian Menendez-Maceiras of Spain 6-4, 6-0. Both Brooksby and Altamirano train at the JMG Tennis Academy in Sacramento.
   Qualifier CiCi Bellis, a 20-year-old San Francisco Bay Area product, will take on third-seeded Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium at 1 p.m.
   Bellis is playing in her first tournament in 19 months. During her layoff, the right-hander underwent three operations on her right wrist and one on her right elbow.
   College signing – Stefan Leustian of Mather in the Sacramento area signed with UCLA.
   "I have seen all the things Billy (Martin) and (assistant coach) Rikus (de Villiers) have done in the past and seen improvements from all the players," Leustian said on tennisrecruiting.net. "I've been a really big UCLA fan since I was young, and I love the location. Nothing beats L.A. It was kind of like the best of every world."