The Bryan brothers tell BACKCOURT why you don't mess with Andy Roddick.
Bob Bryan: Three or four years ago we were doing an interview in NYC and someone asked us to tell a secret about Andy [Roddick]. So we said that he [supposedly] had a huge crush on Jessica Simpson. So the next day, we get a call from Andy, who’s reading the New York Times, where they’ve actually printed the story! He just says, “Tell me this is not happening.” And he said he would get back at us somehow. I tried to avoid him for a week until he saw me in the lobby of the player’s lounge [of the U.S. Open], just outside the referee’s office. And right there in front of everyone, he pantsed me.
BACKCOURT: What is “pantsed”?
Mike Bryan: It’s when someone comes up behind you and pulls your pants down . . .
BACKCOURT: To the ground, in front of everybody?
Bob: Yeah. Everyone was there. It was during the day, so it was crowded.
BACKCOURT: And other players saw this?
Bob and Mike: Yeah.
BACKCOURT: OK. And this is an ongoing thing?
Mike: One time we did it to Pat [McEnroe] at a Davis Cup press conference in Del Ray. And one time when we were in Slovakia, Andy was mad at me for some reason . . . we must have done something to him, and all day he was trying to pants me, and finally he got close. But I was not wearing any underwear that day, and I told him, “Do not do it, man. Do not do it right now.” But he finally got around me and yanked my shorts so hard that he broke the string, right there in the hotel lobby in Slovakia.
BACKCOURT: Talk about getting caught with your pants down.