The BNP Paribas Open is off to a super start. Last weekend’s matches featured several local players including the Bryan Brothers, Santa Monica’s Sam Querrey and Mardy Fish. Super Saturday, March 10, was a great day for the Bryan Brothers. The world’s No. 1 ranked men’s doubles team from Camarillo, who host their annual fundraiser at the Malibu Racquet Club, played doubles against Kevin Anderson and Milos Raonic. The Bryan Brothers played very well in their evening match in front of a stadium full of enthusiastic and vocal American fans.
The Bryan Brothers played very well, using an excellent serve and volley game to win the match 6-3, 7-6 (3). The Bryan Brothers were feeling all of the momentum on their side before a break point as fans in the stadium screamed, “Break, break, break, break.” The BNP Paribas Open is the one major tournament the Bryan Brothers have not won, so they are off to a great start in achieving their goal to win this tournament which is so close to their home. The Bryan Brothers have been the top ranked doubles team for seven of the past nine years.
“It was great being at the BNP this weekend,” said Laura Richardson, a former Malibu resident who now lives in Camarillo. “For years, I played at the Pepperdine courts. When I moved to Camarillo, I joined the Spanish Hills Country Club where the Bryan Brothers played and I watched the sports career of the Bryan Brothers get better and better.”
On Sunday, March 11, the Bryan Brothers had a line wrapped around the building waiting for their autograph session that afternoon. Once it started, they signed numerous balls and greeted their fans warmly.
The Bryan Brothers have been runner-ups at the BNP Paribas Open in 2003 when they lost to Wayne Ferreira and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 6-1, 6-4 and also in 2006 when they lost to Daniel Nestor and Mark Knowles, 6-4, 6-4.
In other weekend matches, players that moved on were Rafael Nadal, Roger Rederer, Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic, John Isner and Mardy Fish. Nadal’s stadium match on Sunday against Leonardo Mayer from Argentina was one of the most exciting this weekend. Malibu resident and BNP Owner Larry Ellison sat courtside watching Nadal. On the women’s side, both Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova won, while local Sam Querrey lost his weekend match, as did Britain’s Andy Murray.
Photo by James Handal