The Bryan brothers have overcome opponents and obstacles to become the most successful men's doubles team in Open era history. When the twins' match-point moment arrived today, Bob Bryan looked like a man ready to run through a wall to realize a golden dream.
Zooming straight at the back wall in dogged pursuit of a lob, Bob must have seen the purple barrier approaching but was too preoccupied making a stunning retrieval to notice. With his back to the court, the left-handed half of the twin team tossed up a desperate over-the-shoulder lob to extend the point.
Moments later, the twins whose rapid-fire reflexes recall circus jugglers, had their hands full again — hugging each other in an eruption of exuberance after winning their first Olympic gold medal with a 6-4, 7-6 (2) victory over France's Michael Llodra and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Hours after Serena Williams became the first player to complete the singles and doubles career Golden Slam, the twins from Camarillo, California, the strawberry capital of the country, found their own field of gold in achieving the career doubles Golden Slam.
Pitching a near shutout on first serve, the Bryans served 79 percent, won 25 of 27 points played on their first serves, closed the second set with four consecutive love holds and denied all six break points they faced in a pressure-packed eighth game.
The left-handed Llodra and explosive Tsonga looked lethargic at the outset, which was understandable, given their gripping 6-3, 4-6, 18-16 semifinal marathon win over Spain's David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez yesterday. Eager to exploit any signs of lingering ennui, the Bryans broke Tsonga's serve at the outset and soon established a 4-2 lead after Bob, the bigger server, held at love.
The pivotal point of the match came in the eighth game as the French pair unleashed some rousing down-the-line returns to earn double break point on Mike Bryan's serve. Tsonga drove a return deep on the first break point and Bob Bryan hit a brilliant stab volley to prolong a 13-shot rally and draw an error on the second breaker. The tension ratcheted up severely as France continued to fire away from the baseline, eventually earning six break points in all. The Bryans withstood the pressure. Moving together at net as if connected by a cord, the twins, who probably practiced poaching when they shared the same womb, eventually held when Mike served down the T and Bob knocked off a stretch forehand volley for 5-3. Two games later, Llodra's forehand return expired in net and the Bryans collected the 40-minute first set.
Tsonga made history last week in outdueling Milos Raonic in the longest set in Olympic history. The effects of surviving epics in singles and doubles drained and strained the Wimbledon semifinalist, who spent some changeovers spread out on the lawn stretching his hips and shoulders. While Llodra and Tsonga were often explosive — they hit 31 winners compared to 24 for their opponents — the Americans played cleaner tennis throughout.
Llodra, who partnered Arnaud Clement to beat the Bryans in the 2007 Wimbledon final, erased the only break point of the second set with an ace. Untouchable on their first serves throughout the second set, the twins had won 23 of 24 points played on their first serves when Mike held at love to force the breaker.
A pair of Mike Bryan volley winners and a Tsonga double fault helped the twins take a 5-1 lead in the breaker. When Bob Bryan's stab volley was too hot for Llodra to handle the brothers had arrived at match point setting up that run to the wall — and leap over the final hurdle.