Bryan rallies for victory in USTA Challenger play

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2000 | 11:57 a.m.

For a guy who hadn't picked up a racket, much less played a match in two weeks, American Bob Bryan looked sharp Monday afternoon at the Fertitta Tennis Complex at UNLV.

At least his mind was.

Bryan, the third seed in the $50,000 USTA Las Vegas Challenger, overcame a sluggish start for a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Germany's Oliver Gross. Bryan trailed 1-4 in both sets.

"I think maybe I was playing his game and not dictating the points early on," Bryan said. "He was jerking me around.

"It actually loosened me up by getting down. I started to hit my shots and go for my forehand more."

Fourth-seeded Cecil Mamiit advanced to the second round when James Sekulov retired before the start of the second set. Mamiit won the first set 6-2. In other first-round matches Kevin Kim rallied for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over James Blake, Jimy Szymanski beat Vince Spadea 6-0, 6-1 and Petr Kralert toppled fifth-seeded Tomas Zib, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).

Neville Godwin was up 6-4, 3-0 before Lior Mor retired and Glenn Weiner beat Alejandro Hernandez, 7-5, 6-4.

Bryan, 22, is making the most of his second full year on the ATP Tour.

He is currently ranked a career-high 119th in the ATP Tour's entry system point standings and along with twin brother, Mike, is ranked 20th in the tour's Doubles Race. The point standings determine which players get to bypass the qualifying rounds of a tournament and get directly into the main draw.

At the Queen's Club grasscourt tournament in June, Bryan beat Tim Henman, then ranked 14th in the Champions race, in the second round before falling 6-4, 6-4 to Pete Sampras.

"I had a big break there," Bryan said. "I qualified for the tournament, beat Henman and Max Mirnyi before losing to Sampras.

"I've been playing pretty well after that and gained some confidence."

Bob completed the "triple crown" of college tennis by winning the 1998 NCAA singles title, the doubles title with Mike, and being a part of Stanford's team title.

The Bryan brothers decided to take a two-week break after four weeks on the road playing challengers in Tulsa, Okla., San Antonio, Texas, Houston, and Austin, Texas. Bob reached the quarterfinals of two events and the semifinals in Austin.

"We went back to Stanford, hung out with friends, saw a football game, had a normal life," Bryan said with a grin. "We left the rackets in the garage.

"It's good for you to take a rest and not play for a while to get refreshed. It is a grind out here.

"But when you come back you feel like you've never played before."

Though Bryan struggled with his footwork and timing against Gross, he made up for it with his resolve.

Bryan said he enjoys playing in this altitude because it helps his serve and that he became more aggressive as the match wore on.

Bryan's attacking ground strokes forced Gross, who has a very exaggerated grip, to mishit the ball many times off the frame of his racket and shoot it high into the air.

"I'm usually a quick starter," Bryan said.

"I like to jump on guys and take over right away.

"I'm just proud that I hung in there because I could have had so many excuses like it's cold outside, the altitude is not what I'm used to and it's my first tournament back.

"Getting through this tough first round will give me some confidence."

The top 107 or so on the entry point system will be entered into the main draw of the next year's first Grand Slam. Bryan has about five challengers to play through January and figures he must win at least two to be safe and avoid qualifying rounds.