Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, London

Round Robin, Day 4:  [TR1] Bob and Mike Bryan (USA) vs. [TR5] Jean-Julien Rojer (NED) and Horia Tecau (ROU)

The Bryans have been the team most affected by nerves this tournament and that is surprising as they have been the dominant team all year. They were flat on Monday and today they played scared.  Their unforced errors were ridiculous and Mike probably played the worst match of his career.  They went up a break twice in the first set but played so hesitantly they were unable to consolidate.  The tiebreak was a fiasco and they lost that easily to their opponents.

The Bryans were the more mentally fragile team and sensing that, their opponents kept the pressure on in every point.  They were more alert and aggressive and simply played better/smarter tennis for the majority of the match. When it appeared hopeless after Mike went down a break in the second set, their opponents blinked and the Bryans grabbed the opportunity realizing that it was now or never.  Yet, victory was not guaranteed for the twins and when Bob dropped both points on serve in the super tiebreak, their opponents once again had the advantage.  However, a few timely well-played shots by the Bryans got them back in the tiebreak and they won 6-7(4), 6-3, 10-6.