Bryan/Sock Reach Second Straight Grand Slam Final

Mike Bryan assures his brother Bob Bryan his job is safe once he returns to the world’s most successful doubles partnership from a hip injury. In the meantime, Jack Sock is proving a more than sufficient substitute.

Mike Bryan and Sock won through to their second straight Grand Slam final on Thursday, to extend their unbeaten run in the majors to 11 matches. And it will be a battle of the past two Wimbledon champions when the Americans meet No. 7 seed Marcelo Melo and Lukasz Kubot in the final.

Bryan/Sock prevailed with a dramatic 6-2, 6-7(1), 6-4 semi-final victory over fifth seeds Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal on Thursday. The match could have been a relatively routine 6-2, 6-4 result had Bryan closed it out with match point on his serve in the second set. 

The Colombian duo had already ended Bryan/Bryan’s run in the Australian Open semi-finals in January and a second straight hard-court Grand Slam final was suddenly on the cards again when they forced a deciding set.

The American No. 3 seeds, however, made no mistake of it second time around. They converted on match point No. 2 with a break of serve in the final game of the match.

“Obviously we could have won that thing in straights [sets]. We could have won this 45 minutes ago but it’s a good mental test,” Bryan said. “Those guys are really good fighters. That’s my bad. I should have served it out.”

At 40, Bryan will be bidding for his 18th Grand Slam title, his sixth at the US Open. A win over the Polish-Brazilian pair in the final would break his tie with John Newcombe for most major doubles titles. 

“I’m just having a blast. This is my 24th [US] Open,” Bryan said. “Still doing it and really savouring these moments. Who knows? It could be one of my last finals here. Bob, keep rehabbing that hip. Jack’s done pretty good filling in for you.”

At Wimbledon, Bryan/Sock pulled through three five-set matches to clinch their first title together. Sock was asked whether it was better heading into the US Open final having pulled through a long match or to have done it easily.

“I think everyone wants to hear ‘dig deep’ but I’d rather be off the court faster, to be honest,” Sock laughed. “We spent a lot of time on court, a lot of wear and tear on the body so obviously any time you can get through in straights [sets] the better. It’s been a long season. 

“But as [Mike] alluded to, it’s almost a little bit sweeter feeling if you maybe have chances, not get it, but staying mentally tough and pulling through again.”

After finishing 2017 as the No. 1 doubles team in the world, Kubot/Melo contested their first Grand Slam semi-final of the season when they came up against alternates Radu Albot and Malek Jaziri on Thursday. The seventh seeds had lost five of the past seven matches heading into the US Open but were turning their season around in New York.

Kubot/Melo booked their place in their first final since claiming the Gerry Weber Open in Halle with a 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-3 victory over the Moldovan/Tunisian pair. They will look to extend an unbeaten 2-0 record in finals this season when they meet the Bryan/Sock partnership for the first time.