Bryan Brothers share interesting Indian Wells story - "It's one of the toughest tournaments"

Having turned pro in 1998, the Bryans have reached the twilight of their careers and in fact announced that they would be retiring following the 2020 US Open.

Leaving behind a legacy that spanned four decades, the Bryans were set for one last hurrah at the 2020 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. However, the event was cancelled amidst concerns over the coronavirus and the safety of the players and attendees.

The Bryans are two-time champions at the event, winning in 2013 and 2014. Prior to the cancellation of this year's event, they shared their thoughts on the BNP Paribas Open with the Los Angeles Times.

“Hard not to like it. It’s one of the toughest doubles tournaments. We got to the final in 2003 and we were matched against Yevgeny Kafelnikov [of Russia] and Wayne Ferreira [of South Africa].

The day before the match, they came to us and said they were tired, had been on the road a long time and wanted to go home. Could we split the money and they would hand us the title? We talked to our dad. We were 25 years old then and we came to the conclusion that we will win and wanted to do it on the court.

So, we said no. We would play for it. We did. And we lost”.

The match they are referring to was back when the event was still referred to as the Pacific Life Open. Ferreira and Kafelnikov won that thrilling encounter 3-6 7-5 6-4. However, losing that final must have motivated the brothers to work harder as they went on to win their maiden Grand Slam (Roland Garros 2003) a few months later.

The brothers are currently ranked 27th in the ATP doubles rankings, and have never considered breaking up during their careers. Their decision to retire has more to do with nagging injuries than a decline in skill. Bob Bryan underwent hip surgery in 2018, and Mike only played with Jack Sock, winning Wimbledon and the US Open during that period.

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