MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Bob Bryan has a reason for possibly missing the birth of his first child - he and twin brother Mike have a chance to set a record with their 12th Grand Slam doubles title.
The Bryan brothers, the top seeds at the Australian Open, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 win over the British pair of Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins on Sunday.
If they win three more matches, they'll take home their sixth Australian Open trophy and 12th overall at a Grand Slam, which would beat the 11 titles won by Australians Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge, also known as the ``Woodies.''
We're thinking about it a little bit,'' Mike Bryan said after the match.It's not an end-all if we don't get it here but we'd love to just get that record.
That would take a little pressure off because we're thinking about it a lot,'' he added.That would be cool to get it here in Australia, home of the Woodies.''
The Bryans admit they weren't playing like 11-time Grand Slam champions when they got blanked in the second set on Sunday. I don't think we've lost a set 6-0 in a while,'' Mike said.I think they just played a flawless set.''
Bob Bryan could be forgiven for a momentary lapse of concentration. His wife is due to give birth to a baby girl at the end of the month. They've already settled on the name Micaela.
She's resting. No contractions yet. It's looking like she's going to deliver a little after the finals, hopefully,'' he said before proudly showing off the website he's set up for her, Micaelabryan.com, which counts off theTime left to cook.''
He's still getting used to the idea of becoming a father. I've had some weird dreams,'' he said.I'm seeing a lot of diapers and applesauce.''
RUSTY'S BIGGEST FAN: Count Rafael Nadal among Lleyton Hewitt's admirers after his surprising victory over Milos Raonic in the third round of the Australian Open.
I admire him a lot,'' the Spaniard said after his straight sets win over Feliciano Lopez on Sunday.I think he deserves all the respect of the people who love this sport ... because after having, I don't know how many, five surgeries, six surgeries, something like this, (he) keeps having the motivation to run, to fight every ball.''
Hewitt, ranked a lowly 181st after struggling with injuries over the past year, is into the fourth round of his home Grand Slam for the third time in five years.
He upset Raonic, the 23rd seed, in front of an ecstatic, sellout crowd at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday night. Nadal says even he was cheering for Hewitt back in his hotel room.
``Even if I have a good relationship with Raonic - his coach is from Spain so I am close to him, you know - I really get emotional when (Hewitt) finished. He goes to the floor. He was really showing out his emotions, so is something fantastic at this moment of his career,'' Nadal said.
Nadal will probably be hoping Hewitt wins his next match, too - he plays Nadal's rival, No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
RACE FOR NO. 1: Three women are still in contention to walk away from Melbourne Park with Caroline Wozniacki's No. 1 ranking.
Wozniacki, who's held the No. 1 ranking for 66 weeks, must reach at least the quarterfinals to have a shot of holding on to the top spot. She's scheduled to play former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic in a night match on Sunday.
Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova stayed in the running with a third-round with a win over Maria Kirilenko, as did Victoria Azarenka, with her fourth round victory over Iveta Benesova on Sunday.
I would be a liar if I said I didn't care about it,'' the 22-year-old Belarussian said after her match.It's in the back of my head and we'll take it day by day, I guess.''
Maria Sharapova still has an outside chance at the top spot, as well, but she must at least make the final.
Sharapova and Kvitova each play their fourth-round matches on Monday.