By Chris Oddo | Saturday March 30, 2019
Mike and Bob Bryan are making their way back to the top of the game again.
Should we be surprised?
The 40-year-old (41 on April 29) twins claimed the Miami Open title on Saturday, their first since Bob underwent hip replacement surgery last August. They were solid from start to finish in defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas and Wesley Koolhof 7-5 7-6(8) for their 118th title as a team and their sixth in Miami.
The Bryans battled past the Dutch/Greek pairing in a close battle that featured just one break of serve.
In total Tsitsipas and Koolhof saved 10 of 11 break points with the Bryans claiming the only break in the eleventh game of the opener while Koolhof was serving.
That break was enough to get the Bryans the set, but Tsitsipas and Koolhof persisted and made the match competitive. Each team earned four break points opportunities in the second set, but none were converted.
The Americans created some big-time magic in the second-set tiebreak to close out their title. The Camarillo, California tandem saved three set points from 3-6 down, and then another from 6-7, before clinching the title.
It wasn’t the only magic the Bryans created this week—the six-time Miami Open champions saved four match points to get past Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo in the semi-finals to book a spot in their 176th career ATP final as a team.
The Bryans claim their 39th Masters 1000 title with the victory, and improve to 6-1 in Miami Open finals.